TAT for Enzyme/Protein Delivery to Restore or Destroy Cell Activity in Human Diseases
Michal Lichtenstein, Samar Zabit, Noa Hauser, Sarah Farouz, Orly Melloul, Joud Hirbawi, Haya Lorberboum‐Galski
Abstract
Much effort has been dedicated in the recent decades to find novel protein/enzyme-based therapies for human diseases, the major challenge of such therapies being the intracellular delivery and reaching sub-cellular organelles. One promising approach is the use of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) for delivering enzymes/proteins into cells. In this review, we describe the potential therapeutic usages of CPPs (mainly trans-activator of transcription protein, TAT) in enabling the uptake of biologically active proteins/enzymes needed in cases of protein/enzyme deficiency, concentrating on mitochondrial diseases and on the import of enzymes or peptides in order to destroy pathogenic cells, focusing on cancer cells.