Methods for engineering therapeutic peptides

Peptides are a class of drugs that have become increasingly important and influential for the treatment of many human diseases. Compared to traditional small molecule drugs, peptides have the potential for higher target specificity and potency, along with better safety profiles. On the other hand, the complex and fragile nature of peptides poses significant challenges for their administration. Of particular concern is that they are often unstable and can be rapidly degraded by various proteases after dosing. To address these inherent problems of peptides, many different methods have been attempted. Here, we briefly review these methods, with an emphasis on the effect of each method. (C) 2018 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.