Malignant tumors are a major killer that affects human life and health, and the research on anti-tumor substances has always been a hot spot for humans trying to overcome tumors. In recent years, with the continuous development and utilization of marine resources, thousands of anti-tumor active substances from marine sources have been discovered. Among them, marine peptides have attracted the majority of scientific research due to their small molecular weight, high targeting, fast absorption, high effect, and low side effects. 

The marine environment has a large number of biologically active natural products, and marine species account for approximately 50% of the global biodiversity. A variety of marine organisms, from microorganisms to sponges, algae, molluscs and fish, provide huge resources for new compounds. Among these compounds, marine peptides have become a new choice for biological and biomedical research because of their many potential biologically active ingredients.

Anti-tumor Marine Peptide

Marine peptides are mainly isolated and extracted from marine organisms, such as sponges, ascidians, mollusks, tunicates, algae, fish, soft corals, marine fungi and bacteria. Some are artificially synthesized peptide analogs due to the small amount of extraction or the enhancement of the original effect. Anti-tumor marine peptides have great differences in size and structure. Their structure is mainly composed of amino acids and amino acid residues. The structural characteristics of various unusual amino acid residue sequences are the key to their potential effects.

Anti-tumor marine peptides can be divided into three types: (1) linear peptides, (2) cyclic peptides, (3) marine protein hydrolysates.many linear peptides contain atypical amino acids with post-translational modifications, cyclic peptides Its structural diversity is more complex than its linear counterpart, and the linear peptide structure is relatively simple. Another part is produced by hydrolysis of marine biological protein extracts.

Anti-tumor mechanism of marine peptides

1 Inhibit tumor cell proliferation

The ability of immortal proliferation is the main characteristic of tumor cells, and inhibition of tumor cell proliferation has always been one of the main mechanisms of anti-tumor. Microtubules are the main components of the cytoskeleton and are assembled in an orderly manner by tubulin interactions. They play an important role in cell division and proliferation. Therefore, it can interfere with tumor cell mitosis and inhibit tumor cell proliferation by affecting the function of tubulin. A variety of marine peptides can exert anti-tumor effects through this approach.

2 Inhibit tumor cell migration and invasion

Tumor migration and invasion are important reasons leading to the failure of chemotherapy, the development of drug resistance and the final death of patients. Some marine peptides exert anti-tumor effects by inhibiting tumor cell migration and invasion.

3 Promote tumor cell apoptosis

Apoptosis is an autonomous and programmed death process in which cells receive stimulus signals under certain conditions and are regulated by genes. It is an important mechanism for multicellular organisms to regulate body development, control cell senescence, and maintain internal environment stability. The activation and loss of apoptosis signaling pathways are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. Promoting the occurrence of apoptosis is an important strategy for anti-tumor therapy.

4. Immunity

Tumor immunotherapy is a new anti-tumor method. Its principle is mainly based on the fact that mutated tumors are recognized as foreign substances in the body, and the body can kill tumor cells through immune response. Due to the low immunity of the body induced by the tumor, the tumor can evade the body's immune response. Tumor immunotherapy uses immunological principles and methods to enhance the immunogenicity of tumor cells, increase the sensitivity to effector cell killing, enhance and stimulate the body's immune response to tumors, and cooperate with the immune system to inhibit or kill tumors. Increasing the activity of immune cells and immune factors, and enhancing the intensity of immune response, so as to specifically and quickly kill tumors is an important method of tumor immunotherapy.

More than 60% of anticancer drugs come from natural sources. The ocean covers nearly 70% of the earth's surface and is considered a huge resource for the discovery of potential anti-cancer drugs. The research of marine peptide drugs has broad prospects. Peptides have high specificity to cancer cells. This feature increases the potential of marine peptides to prevent and treat cancer, and can be used as a molecular model for anti-cancer drug discovery. With the comprehensive development of aquaculture industry, separation technology, chemical synthesis technology, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, cell and molecular biology, genetic engineering and other disciplines, the research of marine peptide drugs will further mature and discover more Marine peptides with clear mechanism of action and reliable anti-tumor activity. The ocean will play an important role in controlling cancer treatment in the future.