Antimicrobial peptides for novel antiviral strategies in the current post‐COVID‐19 pandemic
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Published:2023-07-28
Issue:1
Volume:30
Page:
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ISSN:1075-2617
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Container-title:Journal of Peptide Science
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Journal of Peptide Science
Author:
Loffredo Maria Rosa1,
Nencioni Lucia2,
Mangoni Maria Luisa1,
Casciaro Bruno1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi Fanelli”, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia‐Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy
2. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia‐Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy
Abstract
The recent pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has highlighted how urgent and necessary the discovery of new antiviral compounds is for novel therapeutic approaches. Among the various classes of molecules with antiviral activity, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of innate immunity are among the most promising ones, mainly due to their different mechanisms of action against viruses and additional biological properties. In this review, the main physicochemical characteristics of AMPs are described, with particular interest toward peptides derived from amphibian skin. Living in aquatic and terrestrial environments, amphibians are one of the richest sources of AMPs with different primary and secondary structures. Besides describing the various antiviral activities of these peptides and the underlying mechanism, this review aims at emphasizing the high potential of these small molecules for the development of new antiviral agents that likely reduce the selection of resistant strains.
Funder
Sapienza Università di Roma
Subject
Organic Chemistry,Drug Discovery,Pharmacology,Molecular Biology,Molecular Medicine,General Medicine,Biochemistry,Structural Biology