TAT for Enzyme/Protein Delivery to Restore or Destroy Cell Activity in Human Diseases

• Main Authors: Michal Lichtenstein, Samar Zabit, Noa Hauser, Sarah Farouz, Orly Melloul, Joud Hirbawi, Haya Lorberboum-Galski
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Life
• Subjects: CPPs; TAT; TAT-MTS-MitoProtein fusion proteins; TAT-ApoProtein fusion proteins; MTS; mitochondrial diseases
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/9/924

Much effort has been dedicated in the recent decades to find novel protein/enzyme-based therapies for human diseases, the major challenge of such therapies being the intracellular delivery and reaching sub-cellular organelles. One promising approach is the use of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) for delivering enzymes/proteins into cells. In this review, we describe the potential therapeutic usages of CPPs (mainly trans-activator of transcription protein, TAT) in enabling the uptake of biologically active proteins/enzymes needed in cases of protein/enzyme deficiency, concentrating on mitochondrial diseases and on the import of enzymes or peptides in order to destroy pathogenic cells, focusing on cancer cells.