Peptydowe związki makrocykliczne : nowe perspektywy w diagnostyce i terapii chorób

In recent years macrocyclic peptides have drawn much interest due to their beneficial physiochemical properties and potential medical applications. The goal of this review is to summarize the advantages and drawbacks of macrocyclic peptides and provide examples of their use as therapeutic agents. Macrocyclic peptides are characterized by better stability, selectivity and resistance to degradation than their linear counterparts, but on the other hand, macrocyclic peptide synthesis has low efficiency due to possible side reactions and difficulties with solubility of linear precursors. Macrocyclic peptides might also be more immunogenic than their linear counterparts. Macrocyclic peptides have been found as an promising group of molecules for innovative medicine and, to date, they are used as antimicrobial drugs which are effective against both bacteria and fungi. As macrocyclic peptides are highly selective, they also serve a role in cancer therapies and diagnostics. Patented macrocyclic peptides act as a scaffold for the search and optimization of specific inhibitors of cell signaling pathways used by cancer cells to avoid cell death. The presence of peptide ringsin the structure of macrocyclic peptides makesthem analogs of hormones, such as somatostatin and insulin. As a result, macrocyclic peptides could prove to be a good basis for the development of hormonal drugs with extended duration of action. Aside from their role in medicine macrocyclic peptides might also be used in the field of chemical biology as selective and specific chemical probes which would allow for the visualization and imagining of various molecular targets.