Last Updated on June 1, 2026 by Staff
Lots of diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders happen because of the way proteins interact with each other inside cells. Scientists have been trying to create medicines that can stop these interactions but it is really hard to do.
Most medicines are made from molecules. These molecules work well for some things. They have a hard time stopping proteins from interacting. This is because protein surfaces are big and flat. It is hard for small molecules to attach to them.
So researchers have been looking for ways to make medicines that can target these complex interactions.
What Are Peptides
One way to do this is with peptides. Peptides are chains of amino acids. They are good at covering protein surfaces and interacting with disease targets.
Cyclic peptides are especially interesting. These peptides are shaped like rings because their ends are connected. This shape makes them stable. Helps them bind to targets that regular drugs cannot reach.
Cyclic peptides have a big problem. They have a time getting through cell membranes. Since many disease-causing proteins are inside cells, peptides often cannot get to them. This is why many peptide medicines have to be given through injections of pills.
A New Way To Make Peptides
A team of researchers led by Professor Christian Heinis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne has found a way to make cyclic peptides.
They created a library of 15,360 random cyclic peptides. These peptides were designed to be small and compact which helps them get through cell membranes.
The researchers tested these peptides to see if they could stop a protein interaction involving Keap1 and Nrf2. This interaction is linked to diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.
What They Found
The researchers found peptides that could interfere with the Keap1-Nrf2 interaction. They took the ones and made them even better through many rounds of testing and optimization.
One peptide, called Peptide 30, was the best. It is bound strongly to the target protein. Could get through cell membranes.
Lab tests showed that Peptide 30 could block the Keap1-Nrf2 interaction. It was also small enough to get through cell membranes. Big enough to stop the protein interaction.
What This Means
This breakthrough could change the way we make drugs. Many protein interactions were thought to be impossible to target with medicines. This new method could make it possible to develop medicines that can target these interactions.
This could also make it easier to create peptide medicines. Since oral medicines have to get through cell membranes they need to be able to permeate membranes.
Researchers are already working to expand this technology. They are creating bigger peptide libraries and testing them against hard targets, like cancer proteins.
The team has patented the technology. Started a company called Orbis Medicines to develop it further.
If this works cyclic peptides could be a way to make drugs that can treat diseases that have been hard to treat.