Round and round we go: cyclic peptides in disease.

There is a need for novel drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. Cyclic peptides constitute a class of compounds that have made crucial contributions to the treatment of certain diseases. Penicillin, Vancomycin, Cyclosporin, the Echinocandins and Bleomycin are well-known cyclic peptides. Cyclic peptides, compared to linear peptides, have been considered to have greater potential as therapeutic agents due to their increased chemical and enzymatic stability, receptor selectively, and improved pharmacodynamic properties. They have been used as synthetic immunogens, transmembrane ion channels, antigens for Herpes Simplex Virus, potential immunotherapeutic vaccines for diabetes and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis - an animal model of Multiple Sclerosis, as inhibitors against alpha-amylase and as protein stabilizers. Herein, we review important cyclic peptides as therapeutic agents in disease.