A Global Review on Short Peptides: Frontiers and Perspectives
Vasso Apostolopoulos,
Joanna Bojarska,
Tsun-Thai Chai,
Sherif Elnagdy,
Krzysztof Kaczmarek,
John Matsoukas,
Roger New,
Keykavous Parang,
Octavio Paredes Lopez,
Hamideh Parhiz,
Conrad O. Perera,
Monica Pickholz,
Milan Remko,
Michele Saviano,
Mariusz Skwarczynski,
Yefeng Tang,
Wojciech M. Wolf,
Taku Yoshiya,
Janusz Zabrocki,
Piotr Zielenkiewicz,
Maha AlKhazindar,
Vanessa Barriga,
Konstantinos Kelaidonis,
Elham Mousavinezhad Sarasia,
Istvan Toth
Affiliations
Vasso Apostolopoulos
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3030, Australia
Joanna Bojarska
Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Żeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Tsun-Thai Chai
Department of Chemical Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, Malaysia
Sherif Elnagdy
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Gamaa St., Giza 12613, Egypt
Krzysztof Kaczmarek
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Żeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
John Matsoukas
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3030, Australia
Roger New
Vaxcine (UK) Ltd., c/o London Bioscience Innovation Centre, London NW1 0NH, UK
Keykavous Parang
Center for Targeted Drug Delivery, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
Octavio Paredes Lopez
Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Irapuato 36824, Guanajuato, Mexico
Hamideh Parhiz
Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6073, USA
Conrad O. Perera
School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Monica Pickholz
Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
Milan Remko
Remedika, Luzna 9, 85104 Bratislava, Slovakia
Michele Saviano
Institute of Crystallography (CNR), Via Amendola 122/o, 70126 Bari, Italy
Mariusz Skwarczynski
School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Yefeng Tang
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology (MOE), School of Pharma Ceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Wojciech M. Wolf
Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Żeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Taku Yoshiya
Peptide Institute, Inc., Osaka 567-0085, Japan
Janusz Zabrocki
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Żeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Zielenkiewicz
Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5a, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
Maha AlKhazindar
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Gamaa St., Giza 12613, Egypt
Vanessa Barriga
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3030, Australia
Konstantinos Kelaidonis
NewDrug, Patras Science Park, 26500 Patras, Greece
Elham Mousavinezhad Sarasia
Faculty of Science & Technology, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, London NW4 4BT, UK
Istvan Toth
School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Peptides are fragments of proteins that carry out biological functions. They act as signaling entities via all domains of life and interfere with protein-protein interactions, which are indispensable in bio-processes. Short peptides include fundamental molecular information for a prelude to the symphony of life. They have aroused considerable interest due to their unique features and great promise in innovative bio-therapies. This work focusing on the current state-of-the-art short peptide-based therapeutical developments is the first global review written by researchers from all continents, as a celebration of 100 years of peptide therapeutics since the commencement of insulin therapy in the 1920s. Peptide “drugs” initially played only the role of hormone analogs to balance disorders. Nowadays, they achieve numerous biomedical tasks, can cross membranes, or reach intracellular targets. The role of peptides in bio-processes can hardly be mimicked by other chemical substances. The article is divided into independent sections, which are related to either the progress in short peptide-based theranostics or the problems posing challenge to bio-medicine. In particular, the SWOT analysis of short peptides, their relevance in therapies of diverse diseases, improvements in (bio)synthesis platforms, advanced nano-supramolecular technologies, aptamers, altered peptide ligands and in silico methodologies to overcome peptide limitations, modern smart bio-functional materials, vaccines, and drug/gene-targeted delivery systems are discussed.
