Application of Antimicrobial Peptides in the Design and Production of Anticancer Agents

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune system of various species. In addition to extensive studies on their probable application as antibacterial and antifungal antibiotics, AMPs are also under investigation for their wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. Furthermore, the functionality and advantages of AMPs in the design and production of anticancer agents have been assessed. In this regard naturally occurring AMPs or their synthetic derivatives, have been verified for their cytotoxicity on normal and cancer cells. Moreover, some AMPs (or their derivatives) are shown to act as cancer-specific cell penetrating peptides or homing peptides, which makes them suitable for targeting a cytotoxic moiety or a drug carrier toward cancer cells. Therefore, considering the growing number of reports on the advantageous properties of AMPs in the field of anticancer agents, in this study we will review and summarize the corresponding in vitro and in vivo results of these peptides with dual antimicrobial and anticancer properties. To build up a more comprehensive manuscript, we will also discuss the molecular changes made to the natural structure of AMPs, making them suitable for anticancer applications.