New Progress in Peptidic Protease Inhibitors
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 880
Special Issue Editors
Interests: peptide-based inhibitors; peptidomimetics; bioactive inhibitors; cysteine proteases; proteasome; anticancer; inhibitors from nature; drug-combination studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: peptide-based inhibitors; cysteine protease inhibitors; nutraceuticals; drug-combination studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Peptide-based inhibitors represent a promising class of therapeutic agents characterized by high specificity and favorable safety profiles. These compounds are designed to target key proteases involved in several pathological processes. Proteases are also essential for cells because they are involved in various physiological processes, such as protein turnover, digestion, cell signaling, apoptosis, and immune response. They are classified based on their catalytic mechanism into serine, cysteine, aspartic, threonine, or metallo-proteases. They could be used in several fields, such as for the treatment of cancer, inflammation, metabolic and neurological disorders, and infectious diseases. However, their clinical development has been often limited due to enzymatic degradation, rapid systemic clearance, and poor oral bioavailability. Recent advances in structural modification techniques—such as the introduction of unnatural amino acids or of specific scaffolds into the peptide backbone, peptide cyclization, PEGylation, and encapsulation in nanosystems—have significantly enhanced their stability and pharmacokinetic profiles, increasing their potential in clinical applications.
In this Special Issue, we aim to provide evidence for the identification and development of novel peptides as protease inhibitors with a promising therapeutic potential.
Prof. Dr. Roberta Ettari
Dr. Carla Di Chio
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- peptide inhibitors
- infectious diseases
- cancer
- metabolic disorders
- neurological disorders
- inflammation
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