Cationic antimicrobial peptides: potential templates for anticancer agents
Yahson Fernando Varela-Quitián, Fabio Enrique Mendez-Rivera, David Andrés Bernal-Estévez
Abstract
Cancer is a major global health concern and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic agents to treat this disease. Some antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have demonstrated activity against both microbial pathogens and cancer cells. Among these, cationic AMPs (CAMPs) have garnered significant attention because of their ability to selectively interact with the negatively charged surfaces of cancer cell membranes. CAMPs present several advantages such as high specificity for targeting cancer cells, minimal toxicity to normal cells, reduced probability of inducing resistance, stability under physiological conditions, ease of chemical modification, and low production costs. This review focuses on CAMPs with anticancer properties such as KLA, bovine lactoferricin derivatives, and LTX-315, and briefly explores common bioinformatics tools for Anticancer Peptides (ACPs) selection pipeline from AMPs.