Targeted Therapy Based on Peptide– Drug Conjugates

Marzieh  Lotfi; Seyed Hossein  Shahcheraghi

doi:10.18502/aptj.v5i4.21765

Marzieh Lotfi Abortion Research Center, Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Seyed Hossein Shahcheraghi Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aptj.v5i4.21765

Keywords: Peptide–drug conjugates, Targeted therapy, Cancer

Abstract

Peptide–drug conjugates (PDCs) are useful in new targeted therapy, especially in cancer. It has also been established that proteases are highly expressed in cancer types. These enzymes can cleave the linker, releasing the drugs as a key payload within the tumor. Therefore, overexpression of cathepsins in tumor environments is a favorable characteristic for targeted cancer therapy. The linker must exhibit stability in circulation to avoid undefined cargo release. Releasing with no goal can cause some problems with the enhancement of toxins, which can lead to hazardous or even incurable side effects. Payloads as cytotoxic agents usually show low IC50 values and high toxicity. Two payloads applied within PDC types include Taxol and Daunorubicin.