oa Editorial [ Hot Topic: Peptides in Diagnosis and Therapy (Executive Guest Editor: Darja Kanduc)]

During the last decade, scientific and clinical research witnessed a progressive shift from genomics to proteomics. Actually, the genomic era promised much [1] and much has left unfulfilled [2], thus also explaining the rapid development of proteomics and its application to drug discovery at the beginning of this century [3]. Proteomics is giving a significance to genes by providing a direct link to their biological activity. Currently, we are moving a step further, with peptidomics evolving as a functional and effective branch of proteomics [4]. This is because active peptide modules can be exactly designed, easily synthesized and inexpensively produced. Also, peptides have high effectiveness and low toxicity, fast and extensive tissue penetration, and rapid clearance. In essence, peptidomics appears to be the next frontier of scientific research and clinical applications [5]. In this unfolding scenario, the present issue brings together a collection of compelling papers that provide an extensive overview of peptides as novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Boyle et al. [6] begin the issue by describing PeptideAtlas, a repository of peptide information with the potential of discovering disease biomarkers; Funke and Willbold [7] discuss peptides developed for diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimer's disease; Seim et al. [8] examine the action of orexigenic and anorexigenic peptide hormones in appetite regulation; Tanabe [9] highlights he possibility of using short peptide modules, such as pentapeptides, for enhancing intestinal barrier function; Lucchese et al. [10] describe the multifold characteristics and potential applications of peptides in oral diseases; Llorens-Cortès et al. [11] focus on the role of apelin on water balance and cardiac functions; Riley et al. [12] summarize the current knowledge on the role of the peptide thymosin beta 4 in cardioprotection and repair; Hancock et al. [13] provide an overview on results achieved to date on the therapeutic potential of host defense peptides in antibiotic-resistant infections; Mocellin [14] gives an overview of peptides derived from melanoma-associated-antigens to be used in anti-melanoma peptide-based vaccines; Kanduc et al. [15] report that a low level of sequence similarity to the host proteins is a common denominator unifying the composite assembly of conformational epitopes already validated in the scientific literature. Overall, the final result is an affresco of the therapeutic potential of peptides in a number of human diseases, such as neurodegenerative pathologies, cardio-vascular disorders, inflammation, and cancer, to name but a few. The contributing Authors are leaders in their respective fields with extensive experience in peptide research. As a guest editor of this issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design, I thank all the Authors for their outstanding contributions. I would also like to thank the Referees who provided critical reviews of the papers. Finally, I wish to thank Dr. William A. Banks, the Editor-in-Chief, and Mr. Kazim Ali Baig for the invitation and support throughout this project.