Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sathish Kumar Marimuthu, Krishnanand Nagarajan, Sathish Kumar Perumal, Selvamani Palanisamy, Latha Subbiah
Summary: Host defense peptides or antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short sequences of amino acids with positive or negative charges that exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. AMPs rich in tryptophan, arginine, and proline are considered promising sources for the development of next-generation antibiotics. This study analyzed and classified 2924 AMPs based on their amino acid sequences and investigated their structures and stability using modeling and simulations.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wenyi Li, Feng Lin, Andrew Hung, Anders Barlow, Marc-Antoine Sani, Rita Paolini, William Singleton, James Holden, Mohammed Akhter Hossain, Frances Separovic, Neil M. O'Brien-Simpson, John D. Wade
Summary: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effective against drug-resistant bacteria and possess immunomodulatory activity. Dimerization of AMPs using bifunctional tethers enhances their antimicrobial activity, especially against multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Giovanni Andrea Vitale, Silvia Scarpato, Alfonso Mangoni, Maria Valeria D'Auria, Gerardo Della Sala, Donatella de Pascale
Summary: Two linear proline-rich peptides (1-2) with N-terminal pyroglutamate were isolated from the marine bacterium Microbacterium sp. V1 associated with the marine sponge Petrosia ficiformis collected in Ischia Island. An integrated, untargeted MS/MS-based molecular networking and cheminformatic approach was used to detect these peptides along with others (3-8). Through extensive analysis, the planar structure and stereochemistry of the peptides were determined. Peptides 1 and 2 exhibited antioxidant properties in the FRAP assay.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiao-Li Zhang, Xiao-Qing Gong, Xin-Jian Su, Hai-Xia Yu, Si-Yuan Cheng, Jing-Wen Huang, Dan-Yang Li, Zhao-Long Lei, Ming-jun Li, Feng-wang Ma
Summary: In this study, it was found that MdRAD23D1 and MdPRP6 proteins in apple plants have opposite regulatory roles in drought stress. MdRAD23D1 levels increased under drought condition, accelerating the degradation of MdPRP6, while MdPRP6 negatively regulated drought response by regulating proline accumulation. Therefore, MdRAD23D1 and MdPRP6 together confer drought stress tolerance in apple plants.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Hongxia Li, Jiayong Liu, Chuan-Fa Liu, Haizhou Li, Jiachun Luo, Shanfang Fang, Yongzhi Chen, Rongcui Zhong, Shouping Liu, Shuimu Lin
Summary: This study designed and synthesized a series of new membrane-active bakuchiol derivatives, with compound 28 showing potent antibacterial activity against various bacteria and strong in vivo antibacterial efficacy in murine corneal infection models. This design strategy is expected to provide an effective solution to the antibiotic crisis.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Christopher Berube, Alexandre Borgia, Normand Voyer
Summary: We report the first total synthesis of the macrocyclic decapeptide stylopeptide II, which was achieved using an efficient methodology with oxime resin as solid support. The synthesis was performed at gram-scale without the generation of any detectable undesired side products, demonstrating the general applicability and large-scale synthesis acceleration of this method.
TETRAHEDRON LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Amy L. Thomson, Andrea J. Robinson, Alessia Belgi
Summary: Recombinant peptide synthesis allows for mass production of therapeutically potential peptides, but the synthesis of dicarba peptidomimetics becomes challenging due to the Lewis basicity of amine and sulfur-containing residues. This study presents a combination of strategies to deactivate coordinative residues and achieve efficient Ru-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis. The method was demonstrated using α-conotoxin EpI, a disulfide-containing sequence, by replacing the disulfide loop with E/Z-dicarba bridges.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Arianna Quintavalla, Davide Carboni, Maria Simeone, Marco Lombardo
Summary: An efficient enantioselective synthesis of chiral alpha-disubstituted beta-homoprolines was developed by utilizing the stereodivergent allylation reaction of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines derived from 4-bromobutanal with indium or zinc catalysts. This methodology allows for easy introduction of different substituents at the alpha-position of the pyrrolidine scaffold and offers the flexibility to switch the absolute configuration of the newly formed stereocenter by altering the chiral auxiliary or the allylation protocol.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Arianna Quintavalla, Davide Carboni, Maria Simeone, Marco Lombardo
Summary: An efficient enantioselective synthesis of chiral alpha-disubstituted beta-homoprolines has been developed, allowing for easy introduction of different substituents at the alpha-position and switching of the stereocenter's absolute configuration.
Article
Biology
Philipp Koch, Steven Schmitt, Alexander Heynisch, Anja Gumpinger, Irene Wuethrich, Marina Gysin, Dimitri Shcherbakov, Sven N. Hobbie, Sven Panke, Martin Held
Summary: In this study, a high-throughput platform was developed for investigating the sequence-activity relationship of antimicrobial peptides. The platform proved to be useful for hit-to-lead identification and optimization of antimicrobial drug candidates.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shuddhanjali Roy, Tanushree Agarwal, Arup Das, Tanmoy Halder, Gouranga Upadhyaya, Binay Chaubey, Sudipta Ray
Summary: The C-terminal stretch in SbGPRP1 acts as an antimicrobial peptide by either binding to the bacterial membrane or targeting a specific protein on the membrane, causing membrane perturbation. The study shows the potential antimicrobial property of the C-terminal peptide against gram-positive bacteria and phytopathogen, and identifies a crucial 23 amino acid sequence for its antimicrobial activity. Further experiments demonstrate the interaction between C-SbGPRP1 and bacterial membrane protein, leading to membrane perturbation and antimicrobial activity.
PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ramon Roca-Pinilla, Ravi Holani, Adria Lopez-Cano, Cristina Saubi, Ricardo Balta-Foix, Eduardo R. Cobo, Elena Garcia-Fruitos, Anna Aris
Summary: Combining multiple innate immune peptides into a single recombinant antimicrobial and immunomodulatory polypeptide has shown potential advantages, with the ability to improve its immunomodulatory and antimicrobial functions by adjusting the sequences of different domains.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
I. A. Bolosov, P. V. Panteleev, S. V. Balandin, O. V. Shamova, T. V. Ovchinnikova
Summary: We conducted structural and functional studies on minibactenecin mini-ChBac7.5N alpha, a natural proline-rich cathelicidin from domestic goat Capra hircus. By generating a series of alanine-substituted analogues, we identified the key residues essential for the peptide's biological activity. We observed rapid development of E. coli resistance to both the natural minibactenecin and its analogues carrying substitutions for hydrophobic amino acids in the C-terminal residues. The resistance to this class of peptides is likely due to mutations in the SbmA transporter leading to its inactivation.
BULLETIN OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Ana Sofia Oliveira, Carlos Ferreira, Joana Odila Pereira, Manuela E. Pintado, Ana P. Carvalho
Summary: Saccharomyces cerevisiae extracts, as food supplements, have been commercialized for years due to their high protein content and various biological properties. Ongoing studies focus on valorizing S. cerevisiae to create novel products and improve production processes.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Wenyu Xiang, Patrice Clemenza, Jessie Klousnitzer, Jespar Chen, Weiheng Qin, Stephanie Tristram-Nagle, Yohei Doi, Y. Peter Di, Berthony Deslouches
Summary: Antimicrobial peptides that directly disrupt bacterial membranes may overcome resistance to traditional antibiotics. A rational framework for systematically addressing this challenge was developed using novel peptides tested against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The study selected peptides with broad-spectrum activity and low toxicity to mammalian cells, and the shortest peptide demonstrated effectiveness in killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria and protecting mice from infection.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mario Mardirossian, Arianna Pompilio, Valentina Crocetta, Serena De Nicola, Filomena Guida, Margherita Degasperi, Renato Gennaro, Giovanni Di Bonaventura, Marco Scocchi
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mario Mardirossian, Arianna Pompilio, Margherita Degasperi, Giulia Runti, Sabrina Pacor, Giovanni Di Bonaventura, Marco Scocchi
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2017)
Article
Microbiology
Margherita Degasperi, Chiara Agostinis, Mario Mardirossian, Massimo Maschio, Andrea Taddio, Roberta Bulla, Marco Scocchi