Abstract
An urgent need of more effective and personalized treatments for cancer and other genetic diseases is becoming a generalized claim. This is pushing forward experimental alternative approaches based on targeted nanoconjugates, which are designed to be specifically directed against target cells. These constructs, although suitable to carry conventional chemical drugs, are specifically appropriate to deliver expressible or antisense DNA molecules, silencing RNAs or functional proteins as novel biopharmaceuticals. In this new scenario, the specificity and adequateness of director moieties to target cells is fundamental to achieve successful therapies. In this regard, natural or modified proteins or short peptides offer appropriate tools to functionalize vehicles for targeted drug delivery. Besides, conventional protein engineering allows combining, by recombinant DNA technologies, different active peptides in single-chain polypeptides with modular architecture. This offers intriguing possibilities for the development of multifunctional and smart drug vehicles at the nanoscale. In this review we first discuss the pharmacological applications of recombinant proteins, the procedures to identify, obtain and engineer functional and multifunctional polypeptides for target drug delivery and the potential applications of such constructs in emerging cancer therapies. For that, we discuss in detail the molecular traits in the biology of cancer that are critical for the identification and selection of suitable targets for protein-based drug delivery.
Keywords: Engineering, Modular Protein, Cancer Therapies, genetic diseases, drug delivery
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Modular Protein Engineering in Emerging Cancer Therapies
Volume: 15 Issue: 8
Author(s): Esther Vazquez, Neus Ferrer-Miralles, Ramon Mangues, Jose Luis Corchero, Simo Schwartz Jr. and Antonio Villaverde
Affiliation:
Keywords: Engineering, Modular Protein, Cancer Therapies, genetic diseases, drug delivery
Abstract: An urgent need of more effective and personalized treatments for cancer and other genetic diseases is becoming a generalized claim. This is pushing forward experimental alternative approaches based on targeted nanoconjugates, which are designed to be specifically directed against target cells. These constructs, although suitable to carry conventional chemical drugs, are specifically appropriate to deliver expressible or antisense DNA molecules, silencing RNAs or functional proteins as novel biopharmaceuticals. In this new scenario, the specificity and adequateness of director moieties to target cells is fundamental to achieve successful therapies. In this regard, natural or modified proteins or short peptides offer appropriate tools to functionalize vehicles for targeted drug delivery. Besides, conventional protein engineering allows combining, by recombinant DNA technologies, different active peptides in single-chain polypeptides with modular architecture. This offers intriguing possibilities for the development of multifunctional and smart drug vehicles at the nanoscale. In this review we first discuss the pharmacological applications of recombinant proteins, the procedures to identify, obtain and engineer functional and multifunctional polypeptides for target drug delivery and the potential applications of such constructs in emerging cancer therapies. For that, we discuss in detail the molecular traits in the biology of cancer that are critical for the identification and selection of suitable targets for protein-based drug delivery.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Vazquez Esther, Ferrer-Miralles Neus, Mangues Ramon, Corchero Luis Jose, Schwartz Jr. Simo and Villaverde Antonio, Modular Protein Engineering in Emerging Cancer Therapies, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209787582084
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209787582084 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
An Overview of Emerging Immunotargets of Genitourinary Tumors
Current Drug Targets Melatonin in the Biliary Tract and Liver: Health Implications
Current Pharmaceutical Design Commercially Available, FDA-approved Epigenetic Modifiers As Therapeutic Agents in Bacterial Infection
Clinical Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Drugs (Discontinued) Cancer Drug Development with the Help of Radiopharmaceuticals: Academic Experience
Current Pharmaceutical Design Trans-Platinum Complexes with Promising Antitumor Properties
Medicinal Chemistry Reviews - Online (Discontinued) Targeting Carcinogen Metabolism by Dietary Cancer Preventive Compounds
Current Cancer Drug Targets New Potential Pharmaceutical Applications of Hypericum Species
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Pharmacotherapy for the Metabolic Syndrome
Current Vascular Pharmacology Disorders of Sex Development: A Review
Current Women`s Health Reviews A Review of Medicinal Plant Patents
Recent Patents on Biomedical Engineering (Discontinued) Potential Roles of Eosinophils in Cancer Therapy: Epidemiological Studies, Experimental Models, and Clinical Pathology
Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery Update of the Preclinical Situation of Anticancer Platinum Complexes: Novel Design Strategies and Innovative Analytical Approaches
Current Medicinal Chemistry Endometriosis and Perinatal Outcome - A Systematic Review of the Literature
Current Women`s Health Reviews New and Highly Potent Antitumor Natural Products from Marine-Derived Fungi: Covering the Period from 2003 to 2012
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ETS Proteins and MMPs: Partners in Invasion and Metastasis
Medicinal Chemistry Reviews - Online (Discontinued) Biochemical Markers of Renal Function
Current Medicinal Chemistry The Correlation between EGFR and Androgen Receptor Pathways: A Novel Potential Prognostic Marker in Gastric Cancer
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Therapeutic Strategies for Targeting BRAF in Human Cancer
Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials Inhibitors of ABL and the ABL-T315I Mutation
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Circumventing Immune Tolerance Through Epigenetic Modification
Current Pharmaceutical Design