Biosynth’s Guide to Peptides, Enzymes and Antibodies’ in Oncology

Staad, Switzerland: – Microbiology and organic fine biochemical specialist manufacturer and developer Biosynth AG has produced a comprehensive guide to peptides as cancer therapies in its latest blog.

The posting ‘Cancer Diagnostics: A Brief Look into the Role of Peptides, Enzymes and Antibodies’ explores the leading role that peptides, antibodies and enzymes play in many aspects of oncology, ranging from diagnostic immunoassays and tumor-homing peptides to therapeutic nanobodies and the peptidomimetic synthetic peptides that mimic natural peptides’ biological functions.

Diagnostics

The article first establishes the overall applications of diagnostic antibodies, peptides, and enzymes, including harnessing the body’s own natural immune mechanisms through specific antibodies that can also be used in point of care diagnostics. It notes that the strong specificity and high sensitivity of peptides can be exploited for accurate detection of minimal concentrations of target molecules or presence of specific antibodies or antigens in the blood, enabling earlier diagnosis of cancers.

When it comes to diagnostic enzymes, the article highlights the key roles played by enzyme substrates and their interactions that can generate strong bioluminescent, chemiluminescent, fluorogenic and chromogenic signals, a vital asset in diagnostic testing kits, staining and probing applications.

Tumor-homing peptides and nanobodies

Novel peptides that can penetrate tumor cells and target tumors with specific lineages now play key roles for in vivo tumor imaging applications and can be incorporated rapidly into their target tumor to develop novel photodynamic visualizations that have revolutionized cancer surgery. The article highlights Biosynth’s ability to design and modify high-quality tumor homing peptides, as well as its range of off-the-shelf research products readily available to purchase in our product catalog, such as the tumor homing peptide’ iRGD (H-[Cys-Arg-Gly-Asp-Lys-Gly-Pro-Asp-Cys]-NH2) that can penetrate tumor and endothelial cells, and also inhibit cancer metastasis in vivo, H-CREKA-OH that can target the fibrin‐fibronectin complex, tumor vessels and stroma tissue, and H-CGNKRTRGC-OH for targeting NRP receptor and Glioma cells.

The article also discusses the increasing role of single monomeric variable antibodies, known as nanobodies, which can bind to specific antigens through complementarity-determining regions (CDR loops). Due to their tumor penetrating properties, shorter serum half-life and generation of the high tumor to background ratio, nanobodies are highly suitable for use in molecule imaging and have the potential to be used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging and ultrasound.

Biomarkers and Peptidomimetics

The blog includes detailed discussion of the enzymes and peptides than can be used as significant cancer biomarkers, such as the enzymes Glucose-6-phosphate 1-dehydrogenase (G6PD) for gastric cancer and leukemia, Acid Phosphatase (ACP) for prostate cancer, and the  Cystein capthepsins B, L and H that are useful across a very wide range of human tumors such as melanoma, ovary, lung, cervix, brain, neck, head, breast and gastrointestinal cancers.

It also highlights the dominant role of peptide biomarkers in diagnosing cancers, illustrated by recent development of a peptide-based ELISA assay to detect blood mammaglobin in breast cancer patients, or the use of Parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) as a biomarker for prostate and breast cancer due to its relation to hypercalcemia and bone metastasis found in these cancers.

Finally, it discusses the increasing use in medicinal chemistry of peptidomimetic synthetic peptides to mimic natural peptides’ structure and biological functions. By increasing the stability and selectivity of synthetic peptides, peptidomimetics is playing a significant role in diagnostics and drug discovery by targeting receptors that are overexpressed in tumors.

About Biosynth

Biosynth is a supplier of critical materials, securing life science supply chains with global research, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. Supplying the pharmaceutical and diagnostic sectors; where Chemistry meets Biology, Products meet Services and Innovation meets Quality, Biosynth is at the Edge of Innovation.

With an unrivaled research product portfolio of over a million products and end-to-end manufacturing services, Biosynth’s expertise and capability spans Complex Chemicals, Peptides, and Key Biologics, all from one trusted partner.  Headquartered in Staad, Switzerland, Biosynth is owned amongst others by KKR, Ampersand Capital Partners, and management.

Find out more about Biosynth at www.biosynth.com

Resources

Click on Cancer Diagnostics: A Brief Look into the Role of Peptides, Enzymes and Antibodies to read the full article.
Click on IVD Research Products to learn more.