Mitochondrial-derived peptides and analogs thereof for use as a therapy for age-related diseases including cancer
Described herein is a new mitochondrial peptide. This small peptide is capable of modulating cancer, through a variety of mechanisms including autophagy/apoptosis, reduction of tumor cell viability, inducing inflammatory response in senescent cells and conversion of macrophage cell type. Administration of the peptide, its analogs and derivatives thereof, are likely to be effective treatments for cancer therapy, including generation of synthetic analogs that further enhance or abrogate activity relative to the peptide.
1 . A composition comprising:
a mitochondrial-derived peptide, wherein the mitochondrial-derived peptide comprises an amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 1-214, or wherein the mitochondrial-derived peptide comprises an amino acid sequence with at least 95% sequence identity to any of SEQ ID NOs: 1-215 but is different from SEQ ID NO:215.
2 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the mitochondrial-derived peptide comprises an amino acid sequence of LLLAVGGSGGSLSLMLTLIRGLSK (SEQ ID NO: 72).
3 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the mitochondrial-derived peptide is about 30-34 amino acids in length.
4 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the mitochondrial-derived peptide possesses a post-translational or artificial modification, wherein the artificial modification comprises pegylation, fatty-acid conjugation, polypeptide extension, IgG-Fc, camptothecin (CPT), human serum albumin (HSA), elastin-like polypeptide (ELP), transferrin, or albumin modification.
5 . A pharmaceutical composition, comprising a mitochondrial-derived peptide of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.