Self-Assembling Peptides and Their Application in the Treatment of Diseases

Abstract

Self-assembling peptides are biomedical materials with unique structures that are formed in response to various environmental conditions. Governed by their physicochemical characteristics, the peptides can form a variety of structures with greater reactivity than conventional non-biological materials. The structural divergence of self-assembling peptides allows for various functional possibilities; when assembled, they can be used as scaffolds for cell and tissue regeneration, and vehicles for drug delivery, conferring controlled release, stability, and targeting, and avoiding side effects of drugs. These peptides can also be used as drugs themselves. In this review, we describe the basic structure and characteristics of self-assembling peptides and the various factors that affect the formation of peptide-based structures. We also summarize the applications of self-assembling peptides in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Furthermore, the in-cell self-assembly of peptides, termed reverse self-assembly, is discussed as a novel paradigm for self-assembling peptide-based nanovehicles and nanomedicines.

Biomaterials in Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Promising Therapeutic Approach

“…When dissolved in water, these types of peptides assemble to minimize the contact of the tail with the water. In this way, they can form nanotubes or nanovesicles and they can acquire a function similar to that of lipid micelles present on the lipid layer of the cells [105,107,108]. The most common modification of peptides with a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head is the link with a hydrophobic alkyl chain; when combined with an alkyl chain in a water solution, the hydrophobic tail forms a 3D structure, similar to what happens during protein folding.…”

“…Self-assembling peptides (SAPs) can be monomers or amino acid sequences that assemble to form nanostructures like tubes, rods, and sheets, allowing the presentation of the peptides' chemical functionality on the surface of these structures. These assemblies have different physicochemical and biochemical activities depending on the morphology, size, and accessibility of the active surface area [105]. The self-assembly of peptides can be controlled by pH, ionic strength, temperature, or enzymatic triggers.…”

Nanoscale Self-Assembly for Therapeutic Delivery

“…Enormous literature exists on self-assembled peptide nanostructures useful for drug delivery applications; however, most of them are under in vitro studies. Only few in vivo studies have been undertaken and some of them have been listed in Table 3 (Leite et al, 2015;Habibi et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2019).…”

Injectables and Depots to Prolong Drug Action of Proteins and Peptides

“…Loss of tertiary structure can also result in protein misfolding and denaturation [ 17 , 18 ]. Peptide self-assembly is a concept that has found applications in the treatment of various diseases [ 19 ] based on the ability of peptides to self-associate in response to environmental conditions such as pH, peptide concentrations and amino acid sequence [ 16 ]. Lanreotide, for example, is a synthetic analogue of somatostatin for the treatment of acromegaly, which self-assembles in water into monodisperse nanotubes [ 20 ], available in a controlled release delivery system.…”