Therapeutic Mechanism and Clinical Applications of Cell-penetrating Peptide

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides composed of 30 or fewer amino acids, with the ability to penetrate cellular membranes. Their therapeutic mechanism mainly lies in their ability to conjugate with a variety of biologically active substances, such as chemotherapeutic drugs, nucleic acids, proteins etc., forming complexes that can enter cells via energy-dependent endocytosis, delivering their cargo to the cell interior to exert their effects without affecting cell viability. In terms clinical application, CPPs show broad prospects. In the treatment of tumors, they can act as “smart carriers” for chemotherapy drugs, increasing the concentration of drugs within tumor cells and damage to normal tissues; they are also “powerful assistants” for gene therapy, effectively delivering nucleic acid-like substances, such as the MPG-8 membrane-penrating peptide carrying siRNA targeting cyclin B1 inhibits the growth of mouse transplanted tumors. In addition, they can also be used as “immunostim” of tumor vaccines to enhance immune response, and as “accurate navigation devices” of molecular imaging to assist in the surgical resection of tumors. Although there are still challenges such short half-life and incomplete understanding of the mechanism of action, with the deepening of research and the iteration of technology, CPPs are expected to provide new strategies and methods for treatment of a variety of diseases.