Application of Peptides in Construction of Nonviral Vectors for Gene Delivery

Abstract

Gene therapy, which aims to cure diseases by knocking out, editing, correcting or compensating abnormal genes, provides new strategies for the treatment of tumors, genetic diseases and other diseases that are closely related to human gene abnormalities. In order to deliver genes efficiently to abnormal sites in vivo to achieve therapeutic effects, a variety of gene vectors have been designed. Among them, peptide-based vectors show superior advantages because of their ease of design, perfect biocompatibility and safety. Rationally designed peptides can carry nucleic acids into cells to perform therapeutic effects by overcoming a series of biological barriers including cellular uptake, endosomal escape, nuclear entrance and so on. Moreover, peptides can also be incorporated into other delivery systems as functional segments. In this review, we referred to the biological barriers for gene delivery in vivo and discussed several kinds of peptide-based nonviral gene vectors developed for overcoming these barriers. These vectors can deliver different types of genetic materials into targeted cells/tissues individually or in combination by having specific structure–function relationships. Based on the general review of peptide-based gene delivery systems, the current challenges and future perspectives in development of peptidic nonviral vectors for clinical applications were also put forward, with the aim of providing guidance towards the rational design and development of such systems.

Self-Assembly of Peptide–Lipid Nanoparticles for the Efficient Delivery of Nucleic Acids

“…Peptides have low cytotoxicity and immunogenicity and are promising delivery vectors. , However, there are limited successful examples of nucleic acid drugs delivered by individual peptides. Therefore, in order to overcome the obstacles encountered in the process of gene therapy, peptide-based gene delivery vectors were developed by simple peptide self-assembly …”

Development of Functional Nanomaterials for Applications in Chemical Engineering

“…The developed biocides have high physical stability and particle surface microtexture as well as pronounced bioactivity, which are efficient alternative controlling agents of Conotrachelus humeropictus and Moniliophtora perniciosa , the main pests of Theobroma grandiflorum . Yang et al [ 14 ] presented a comprehensive review on peptide-based nanocarriers for gene delivery. The review puts forward discussion on the biological barriers for gene delivery, the peptide molecular design and assembly with DNA, the targeted delivery and controlled release of genome, the structure–function relationships of the delivery systems, and the current challenges and future perspectives in related fields, providing guidance towards the rational design and development of nonviral gene delivery systems.…”