Understanding the Potential Applications of Anti-Microbial Peptides

Dear Colleagues,

Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) are biomolecules that were identified initially to have anti-microbial properties. AMPs usually contain several cationic and hydrophobic amino acids that contribute to their bioactivity. Further study of AMPs have shown that some AMPs also have anti-cancer and immune modulatory activity. Different terms are used to describe the biological activity of the peptide. The term anti-cancer peptides (ACPs) is used to describe peptides that are toxic to cancer cells but do not harm normal cells. The structure of AMPs and ACPs impact their mechanism of action; however, a better understanding of the structure-function relationship is needed for AMPs or ACPs to move forward into a clinical setting. There is an urgent need to discover novel treatments that are not associated with considerable toxicity to treat cancer and antibiotic resistant pathogens. Identification of suitable drug targets is a major obstacle in treatment strategies. The articles in this special issue should cover the important aspects examining potential applications of AMPs and ACPs, providing novel ideas for their use in the treatment of infection and cancer, identification, roles, and molecular mechanisms of action, and translational approaches.

Dr. Melanie R. Power Coombs

Guest Editor

Manuscripts should be submitted via our online editorial system at https://imr.propub.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to start your submission. Manuscripts can be submitted now or up until the deadline. All papers will go through peer-review process. Accepted papers will be published in the journal (as soon as accepted) and meanwhile listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, reviews as well as short communications are preferred. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office to announce on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts will be thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. Please visit the Instruction for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) in this open access journal is 2500 USD. Submitted manuscripts should be well formatted in good English.