Browse more peptide research, methods and limitations.
Heat stress during pupal development significantly decreased phenoloxidase immune activity in queen bees but not workers or drones, revealing caste-specific vulnerability to temperature-induced immune suppression.
Medina, Rubén G; Paxton, Robert J; Hernández-Sotomayor, S M Teresa; Pech-Jiménez, Cristina; Medina-Medina, Luis A; Quezada-Euán, José Javier G · Animal
Peptide-based nanoformulations can enhance cancer treatment efficacy by improving tumor penetration, increasing circulation time, and reducing off-target toxicity when combined with conventional therapies.
Mehrotra, Neha; Kharbanda, Surender; Singh, Harpal · Review
Protein-peptide epitope fusions using transthyretin as a carrier increased T-cell vaccine immunogenicity by up to 90-fold by optimizing antigen delivery, stability, and lymphatic targeting.
Mehta, Naveen K; Pradhan, Roma V; Soleimany, Ava P; Moynihan, Kelly D; Rothschilds, Adrienne M; Momin, Noor; Rakhra, Kavya; Mata-Fink, Jordi; Bhatia, Sangeeta N; Wittrup, K Dane; Irvine, Darrell J · Animal
Melittin demonstrates antiviral activity against at least nine different viruses spanning multiple families, suggesting broad-spectrum potential as a venom-derived antiviral peptide.
Memariani, Hamed; Memariani, Mojtaba; Moravvej, Hamideh; Shahidi-Dadras, Mohammad · Review
Mitochondrial-derived peptides serve as retrograde metabolic signals — declining in metabolic disease but rising during adaptive stress responses like exercise — and can improve insulin sensitivity when administered therapeutically.
Merry, Troy L; Chan, Alex; Woodhead, Jonathan S T; Reynolds, Joseph C; Kumagai, Hiroshi; Kim, Su-Jeong; Lee, Changhan · Review
NPY acts through Y5 receptors to cause dendritic hypotrophy in amygdala neurons, reducing excitability and anxiety behavior, while reversing CRF-induced structural hypertrophy — a mechanism for stress resilience.
Michaelson, Sheldon D; Miranda Tapia, Ana Pamela; McKinty, Amanda; Silveira Villarroel, Heika; Mackay, James P; Urban, Janice H; Colmers, William F · Animal
Ara-27 achieved >99% cell-penetrating efficiency at 2 μM in human cells compared to <10% for Tat-PTD and MTS, with 8-22x higher intracellular fluorescence intensity.
Min, Sol; Kim, Kichul; Ku, Seockmo; Park, Jeong-Yoon; Seo, Jeongmin; Roh, Sangho · In Vitro
Optimal dietary curcumin (438 mg/kg) upregulated antimicrobial peptides hepcidin, LEAP-2, and β-defensin while activating Nrf2 antioxidant pathways and suppressing NF-κB inflammatory signaling after bacterial challenge.
Ming, Jianhua; Ye, Jinyun; Zhang, Yixiang; Xu, Qiyou; Yang, Xia; Shao, Xianping; Qiang, Jun; Xu, Pao · Animal
BPC-157 eye drops (0.4 μg/eye) fully counteracted tetracaine and oxybuprocaine corneal effects — restoring sensitivity, healing lesions, and normalizing tear production — even when the NO system was blocked.
Mirković, Ivan; Kralj, Tamara; Lozić, Marin; Stambolija, Vasilije; Kovačević, Josip; Vrdoljak, Luka; Zlatar, Mirna; Milanović, Kristina; Drmić, Domagoj; Predović, Jurica; Masnec, Sanja; Jurjević, Matija; Bušić, Mladen; Seiwerth, Sven; Kokot, Antonio; Sikirić, Predrag · Animal
SS-31 partitions into the mitochondrial membrane interface and modulates surface electrostatics in a charge-dependent manner, with demonstrated reduction of calcium stress as a proof-of-concept protective mechanism.
Mitchell, Wayne; Ng, Emily A; Tamucci, Jeffrey D; Boyd, Kevin J; Sathappa, Murugappan; Coscia, Adrian; Pan, Meixia; Han, Xianlin; Eddy, Nicholas A; May, Eric R; Szeto, Hazel H; Alder, Nathan N · In Vitro
Hydrophobic amino acid linkers (FF and LL) adjacent to the photosensitizer significantly enhanced photochemical internalization efficiency in CPP-cargo-PS conjugates across multiple cargo types.
Miyoshi, Yuichi; Kadono, Maho; Okazaki, Shigetoshi; Nishimura, Ayano; Kitamatsu, Mizuki; Watanabe, Kazunori; Ohtsuki, Takashi · In Vitro
SialoPen peptides — de novo designed foldamers using a Neu2en scaffold — demonstrated significantly superior cellular uptake compared to classical CPPs penetratin and HIV-TAT in both HeLa and neuronal cells.
Monreal, I Abrrey; Contreras, Erik M; Wayman, Gary A; Aguilar, Hector C; Saludes, Jonel P · In Vitro
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) remains the preferred blood marker for assessing functional ovarian reserve — the pool of growing follicles that could potentially lead to ovulation. Serum AMH is used to personalize fertility drug dosing and can predict the risk of poor response or ovarian hyperstimulation during IVF, though it has limited ability to predict actual pregnancy success. AMH may also help predict when a woman will reach menopause, though the rate of age-related AMH decline varies significantly between individuals. A major ongoing limitation is the lack of an international standard for AMH measurement, making it difficult to compare results across different lab tests.
Moolhuijsen, Loes M E; Visser, Jenny A · Review
High-protein diets increase anorexigenic gut peptides (GLP-1, CCK, PYY) and decrease ghrelin, combined with higher diet-induced thermogenesis and muscle preservation, producing sustained weight loss in clinical trials.
Moon, Jaecheol; Koh, Gwanpyo · Review
NK1R and its neuropeptide agonists (substance P, hemokinin-1) localize at the immune synapse and are required for efficient calcium flux, activated T cell survival, and Th1/Th17 pro-inflammatory bias.
Morelli, Adrian E; Sumpter, Tina L; Rojas-Canales, Darling M; Bandyopadhyay, Mohna; Chen, Zhizhao; Tkacheva, Olga; Shufesky, William J; Wallace, Callen T; Watkins, Simon C; Berger, Alexandra; Paige, Christopher J; Falo, Louis D; Larregina, Adriana T · Animal
A biocompatible two-component stapling reaction enables in-situ generation of constrained peptides in aqueous solution, with a stapled Zika protease inhibitor showing 28-fold improved potency over its linear analogue.
Morewood, Richard; Nitsche, Christoph · In Vitro
Dulaglutide reduced HbA1c 0.24% more than liraglutide in real-world clinical practice (p=0.003), confirmed by meta-analysis of observational studies.
Morieri, Mario Luca; Rigato, Mauro; Frison, Vera; Simioni, Natalino; D'Ambrosio, Michele; Tadiotto, Federica; Paccagnella, Agostino; Lapolla, Annunziata; Avogaro, Angelo; Fadini, Gian Paolo · Observational
GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce macro-albuminuria in cardiovascular safety trials, with multiple proposed kidney-protective mechanisms including anti-inflammatory, hemodynamic, and metabolic effects.
Mosterd, Charlotte M; Bjornstad, Petter; van Raalte, Daniël H · Review
Amylin and pramlintide increased amyloid-beta production by modulating APP and γ-secretase in lipid rafts, leading to increased Aβ burden, synaptic loss, and neuroinflammation in TgSwDI Alzheimer's mice.
Mousa, Youssef M; Abdallah, Ihab M; Hwang, Misako; Martin, Douglas R; Kaddoumi, Amal · Animal
The Pn3a[D8N] mutation increased NaV1.7 inhibition potency 20-fold while maintaining >100-fold selectivity over NaV1.4, NaV1.5, and NaV1.6, with confirmed analgesic activity at lower doses in vivo.
Mueller, Alexander; Dekan, Zoltan; Kaas, Quentin; Agwa, Akello J; Starobova, Hana; Alewood, Paul F; Schroeder, Christina I; Mobli, Mehdi; Deuis, Jennifer R; Vetter, Irina · Animal
Exenatide improved MDS-UPDRS Part III motor scores by 3.1-5.6 points versus controls, with effects persisting after drug cessation, but evidence certainty remains low.
Mulvaney, Caroline A; Duarte, Gonçalo S; Handley, Joel; Evans, David Jw; Menon, Suresh; Wyse, Richard; Emsley, Hedley Ca · Systematic Review
Molecular grafting of bioactive epitopes into cyclotide scaffolds produces GPCR ligands with improved oral activity, enzymatic stability, and selectivity compared to linear peptide counterparts.
Muratspahić, Edin; Koehbach, Johannes; Gruber, Christian W; Craik, David J · Review
Only 5 NK-1R antagonists are clinically approved (all for emesis) despite the tachykinin system's involvement in cancer, pain, itch, obesity, and numerous other conditions — representing significant therapeutic underexploration.
Muñoz, Miguel; Coveñas, Rafael · Review
Females have lower baseline NPY expression in multiple brain regions than males, with sex-dependent differences in NPY's anxiolytic and antidepressant effects and stress-responsive expression patterns.
Nahvi, Roxanna J; Sabban, Esther L · Review
Alpha-defensin (cryptdin) expression increases 4-50 fold from duodenum to ileum, with corresponding increases in Paneth cell density and bactericidal activity, regulated by microbial presence.
Nakamura, Kiminori; Yokoi, Yuki; Fukaya, Rie; Ohira, Shuya; Shinozaki, Ryuga; Nishida, Takuto; Kikuchi, Mani; Ayabe, Tokiyoshi · Animal
Striatal substance P via NK1 receptors provides antinociception in acute (3-day) but not subacute (7-day) inflammatory pain, due to inflammation-induced NK1 receptor downregulation.
Nakamura, Yoki; Fukushige, Ryo; Watanabe, Kohei; Kishida, Yuki; Hisaoka-Nakashima, Kazue; Nakata, Yoshihiro; Morioka, Norimitsu · Animal
Continuous striatal substance P infusion dose-dependently relieved neuropathic pain via NK1 receptors activating muscarinic cholinergic neurons — a novel brain-based analgesic pathway.
Nakamura, Yoki; Fukushige, Ryo; Watanabe, Kohei; Kishida, Yuki; Hisaoka-Nakashima, Kazue; Nakata, Yoshihiro; Morioka, Norimitsu · Animal
The cyclic cLK peptide delivered fragmented Runx2 into stem cells more efficiently than Tat-CPP, producing 1.2-fold greater mineralization and higher osteogenic gene expression.
Nam, So Hee; Lee, Yan; Ahn, Joon Hyung; Chung, Chun Kee; Yang, Hee-Jin; Park, Sung Bae; Jang, Sangmok · In Vitro
Hypomethylation at the H3K9 promoter of ANP and BNP genes reactivates fetal gene expression in failing hearts, while broader epigenetic changes drive metabolic and structural maladaptation.
Napoli, Claudio; Benincasa, Giuditta; Donatelli, Francesco; Ambrosio, Giuseppe · Review
Anti-ftsZ PNAs completely inhibited E. faecalis growth, while CPP-conjugated anti-efaA PNAs reduced efaA gene expression and biofilm formation by 95%, with no mammalian cell toxicity.
Narenji, Hanar; Teymournejad, Omid; Rezaee, Mohammad Ahangarzadeh; Taghizadeh, Sepehr; Mehramuz, Bahareh; Aghazadeh, Mohammad; Asgharzadeh, Mohammad; Madhi, Masoumeh; Gholizadeh, Pourya; Ganbarov, Khudaverdi; Yousefi, Mehdi; Pakravan, Asrin; Dal, Tuba; Ahmadi, Raman; Samadi Kafil, Hossein · In Vitro
Tachykinins (NKB, NKA, substance P) initiate puberty by stimulating kisspeptin neuron activation in the hypothalamus, with loss of tachykinin signaling causing delayed/absent puberty in humans and mice.
Navarro, Víctor M · Review
CPP-conjugated PNAs and siRNAs can inhibit hepatitis B virus replication and antigen expression, with CPPs solving the critical intracellular delivery challenge for oligonucleotide-based antivirals.
Ndeboko, Bénédicte; Omouessi, Serge Thierry; Ongali, Brice; Mouinga-Ondémé, Augustin · Review
The amygdala contains a rich neuropeptide network where CGRP, CRF, oxytocin, vasopressin, opioids, neuropeptide S, and somatostatin interact to modulate pain processing and emotional-affective pain behaviors.
Neugebauer, Volker; Mazzitelli, Mariacristina; Cragg, Bryce; Ji, Guangchen; Navratilova, Edita; Porreca, Frank · Review
mRNA display is a powerful laboratory technique that allows researchers to screen trillions of peptide and protein variants simultaneously to find ones with desired functions. The technique works by physically linking each protein to the mRNA molecule that encodes it, creating a searchable library where every candidate comes with its own genetic barcode. The review argues that mRNA display has key advantages over competing methods like phage display, cell-surface display, and ribosomal display — primarily the stability of the protein-mRNA link and the greater experimental control it offers researchers.
Newton, Matilda S; Cabezas-Perusse, Yari; Tong, Cher Ling; Seelig, Burckhard · Review
Antimicrobial peptides LL-37, human beta-defensins, and S100A7 improve tight junction barrier function in addition to their antimicrobial activity, suggesting they could be used for barrier repair in atopic dermatitis.
Nguyen, Hai Le Thanh; Trujillo-Paez, Juan Valentin; Umehara, Yoshie; Yue, Hainan; Peng, Ge; Kiatsurayanon, Chanisa; Chieosilapatham, Panjit; Song, Pu; Okumura, Ko; Ogawa, Hideoki; Ikeda, Shigaku; Niyonsaba, François · Review
Short-term orlistat-induced fat malabsorption did not increase postprandial GLP-1 or PYY3-36 levels or affect hunger/satiety in normal-weight individuals.
Nguyen, Nga N; Kolobova, Irina; Wolfe, Bruce M; Purnell, Jonathan Q · Rct
Enhanced postprandial responses of glicentin and oxyntomodulin after surgery predicted greater weight loss at 18 months (both P < .01) and were associated with decreased preference for energy-dense foods (P ≤ .04). Notably, GLP-1, PYY, and ghrelin changes were not individually associated with weight loss. Postprandial hormone responses differed significantly between Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) for glicentin, oxyntomodulin, GLP-1, and ghrelin (all P ≤ .02). When combining all five hormones in a model, they explained 60% of weight loss variation, 19% of energy intake variation, and 33% of energy density preference variation.
Nielsen, Mette S; Ritz, Christian; Wewer Albrechtsen, Nicolai J; Holst, Jens Juul; le Roux, Carel W; Sjödin, Anders ·
KRM-20 vaccine elicited significant peptide-specific CTL and IgG immune responses (p=0.007, p=0.018) but did not improve clinical outcomes versus placebo when combined with docetaxel in CRPC.
Noguchi, Masanori; Arai, Gaku; Egawa, Shin; Ohyama, Chikara; Naito, Seiji; Matsumoto, Kazumasa; Uemura, Hirotsugu; Nakagawa, Masayuki; Nasu, Yasutomo; Eto, Masatoshi; Suekane, Shigetaka; Sasada, Tetsuro; Shichijo, Shigeki; Yamada, Akira; Kakuma, Tatsuyuki; Itoh, Kyogo · Rct
GLP-1 receptor agonists upregulate mucin expression in airways via p38 MAPK, exacerbating emphysematous phenotypes in obstructive lung disease models.
Nohara, Hirofumi; Nakashima, Ryunosuke; Kamei, Shunsuke; Fujikawa, Haruka; Ueno-Shuto, Keiko; Kawakami, Taisei; Eto, Yuka; Suico, Mary Ann; Li, Jian-Dong; Kai, Hirofumi; Shuto, Tsuyoshi · Animal
GLP-1 RAs significantly reduced MACE (OR 0.87), all-cause mortality (OR 0.89), and showed a trend toward heart failure reduction (OR 0.93) without increasing atrial fibrillation risk across 43 trials.
Nreu, Besmir; Dicembrini, Ilaria; Tinti, Federico; Sesti, Giorgio; Mannucci, Edoardo; Monami, Matteo · Meta Analysis
Enzymatic hydrolysis of tuna skin collagen (52.7% degree of hydrolysis) and gelatin (45.2%) produced peptide fractions with significantly enhanced antioxidant activity across multiple molecular weight ranges.
Nurilmala, Mala; Hizbullah, Hanifah Husein; Karnia, Euis; Kusumaningtyas, Eni; Ochiai, Yoshihiro · In Vitro
Grass defensins represent a large but undercharacterized family of plant antimicrobial peptides, with genome mining revealing numerous novel defensin-like sequences across all grass species examined.
Odintsova, Tatyana I; Slezina, Marina P; Istomina, Ekaterina A · Systematic Review
Patients developing papulopustular eruptions from EGFR monoclonal antibodies showed significant reductions in skin hBD1 and hBD3 levels, linking antimicrobial peptide suppression to drug-induced skin toxicity.
Ommori, R; Nakamura, Y; Miyagawa, F; Shobatake, C; Ogawa, K; Koyama, F; Sho, M; Ota, I; Kitahara, T; Hontsu, S; Muro, S; Asada, H · Observational
Glutamic acid-templated peptide motifs (EEGGC and EEEEE) conjugated to KLD self-assembling scaffolds significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation markers and calcium deposition in human MSCs.
Onak, Günnur; Gökmen, Oğuzhan; Yaralı, Ziyşan Buse; Karaman, Ozan · In Vitro
Active NBD peptide reduced albuminuria by >40%, decreased podocyte loss and basement membrane thickness, and modulated inflammatory markers in a type 2 diabetic nephropathy mouse model.
Opazo-Ríos, Lucas; Plaza, Anita; Sánchez Matus, Yenniffer; Bernal, Susana; Lopez-Sanz, Laura; Jimenez-Castilla, Luna; Carpio, Daniel; Droguett, Alejandra; Mezzano, Sergio; Egido, Jesús; Gomez-Guerrero, Carmen · Animal Study
Modified linker cyclic peptides achieved 10-fold enhanced CXCR4 affinity, with [177Lu]DOTA-r-a-ABA-CPCR4 showing superior tumor uptake (18.3 vs 12.4 %iD/g) and 2-4x better tumor/organ ratios at 48h.
Osl, Theresa; Schmidt, Alexander; Schwaiger, Markus; Schottelius, Margret; Wester, Hans-Jürgen · Animal Study
Thymosin beta-4 depletion disrupted epidermal adherens junction stability and planar cell polarity by altering perijunctional G/F-actin ratios, causing eyelid closure and hair follicle angling defects.
Padmanabhan, Krishnanand; Grobe, Hanna; Cohen, Jonathan; Soffer, Arad; Mahly, Adnan; Adir, Orit; Zaidel-Bar, Ronen; Luxenburg, Chen · Animal Study
Acute intranasal oxytocin focally enhanced limbic connectivity, while repeated 7-day dosing caused widespread brain connectivity reconfiguration with paradoxical reduction in social behavior.
Pagani, Marco; De Felice, Alessia; Montani, Caterina; Galbusera, Alberto; Papaleo, Francesco; Gozzi, Alessandro · Animal Study
LL-37 complexed to self-DNA acts as an autoantigen in psoriasis and lupus, activating interferon production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells, while also having dual antiviral and pro-inflammatory roles.
Pahar, Bapi; Madonna, Stefania; Das, Arpita; Albanesi, Cristina; Girolomoni, Giampiero · Review
PAS-pHK peptide delivers miR-126 selectively to cancer cells, targeting mitochondria to induce apoptosis synergistically while showing no toxicity to non-cancerous cells.
Palanikumar, L; Al-Hosani, Sumaya; Kalmouni, Mona; Saleh, Hadi Omar; Magzoub, Mazin · In Vitro