Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nagasundarapandian Soundrarajan, Prathap Somasundaram, Dohun Kim, Hye-Sun Cho, Hyoim Jeon, Byeonyong Ahn, Mingue Kang, Hyuk Song, Chankyu Park
Summary: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), such as protegrin-1 (PG1), have shown potential as alternatives to current treatments for multidrug-resistant bacteria-infected wounds. This study evaluated the healing efficiency of PG1 in a Staphylococcus aureus-infected wound model using PG1-overexpressing transgenic mice. We observed the resolution of bacterial infection and neo-epithelium formation in the wounds of PG1 transgenic mice, even without antibiotic treatment. Additionally, in vitro experiments showed that PG1 enhanced cell migration in primary epidermal keratinocytes. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of broad-spectrum endogenous antimicrobial peptides, like PG1, in wound healing, and suggest PG1 as a potential therapeutic candidate for wound healing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zainab Jan, Anupriya M. Geethakumari, Kabir H. Biswas, Puthen Veettil Jithesh
Summary: In this study, a natural antimicrobial peptide called Protegrin-2 was identified as a potent inhibitor of the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2. Through molecular docking and experimental assays, it was shown that Protegrin-2 has high binding affinity and can inhibit the proteolytic activity of Mpro. These findings suggest that Protegrin-2 could be a promising candidate for drug development against COVID-19.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Ilia A. Krenev, Pavel Panteleev, Ekaterina S. Umnyakova, Nikolay P. Gorbunov, Valeria A. Kostevich, Sergey Balandin, Tatiana Ovchinnikova, Galina M. Aleshina, Mikhail N. Berlov
Summary: The development of new antimicrobials is urgently needed due to the widespread antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Comprehensive studies of the biological activities of these new antibiotics are essential to prevent adverse side-effects. This study investigated the complement-modulating activity of three promising antibiotic prototypes derived from the structures of arenicins, and found that their effects on complement activation should be taken into account during antibiotic development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alessandra Daniele-Silva, Suedson de Carvalho Silva Rodrigues, Elizabeth Cristina Gomes dos Santos, Moacir Fernandes de Queiroz Neto, Hugo Alexandre de Oliveira Rocha, Arnobio Antonio da Silva-Junior, Jarbas Magalhaes Resende, Renata Mendonca Araujo, Matheus de Freitas Fernandes-Pedrosa
Summary: Stigmurin, a cationic peptide from scorpion venom, exhibits multifunctional activities including antioxidant, antibacterial, and wound healing effects. Its attractive structural information makes it a promising candidate for the design of novel therapeutic agents.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sinazo Z. Z. Cobongela, Maya M. Makatini, Phumlane S. Mdluli, Nicole R. S. Sibuyi
Summary: Acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs) are a new class of emerging antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that show promise in treating pathogenic infections, including tuberculosis. ADEPs exert their antibacterial activity on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) through activation of the protein homeostatic regulatory protease, the caseinolytic protease (ClpP1P2).
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kanchan Tiwari, Madhuri Singh, Prince Kumar, Kasturi Mukhopadhyay
Summary: In this study, the antimicrobial activity of alpha-MSH and its cationic analogues against Escherichia coli was investigated. The results showed that these analogues demonstrated killing of both logarithmic and stationary phase E. coli cells in a time, dose and cationicity-dependent manner. The most cationic analogue, KKK-MSH, successfully eradicated E. coli cells within 15 minutes at a concentration as low as 1 μM. The study suggests that alpha-MSH based cationic peptides hold promise as future agents with broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jiri Czernek, Jiri Brus
Summary: This study demonstrates how advanced techniques of solid-state NMR spectroscopy can benefit from fully periodic calculations to understand the structure and NMR chemical shift tensors of crystalline ALM. The evaluation of CST variations along the ALM backbone helps in simulations of anisotropic chemical shift components, showing the influence of site-specific structural effects on the orientation of ALM in models of cell membranes.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Waqar Hussain
Summary: This paper proposes a method for predicting short antimicrobial peptides using deep neural networks and compares it with previous methods. The results show that this method can accurately and efficiently identify antimicrobial peptides.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
He Liu, Na Yang, Da Teng, Ruoyu Mao, Ya Hao, Xuanxuan Ma, Xiumin Wang, Jianhua Wang
Summary: By conjugating antimicrobial peptides with fatty acids, this study found that the derived peptides Lin-Lf4NH2 and Lin-Lf5NH2 demonstrated improved antibacterial activity and superior topical therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model infected with Staphylococcus hyicus.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aili Wang, Mengying Zhou, Qian Chen, Hui Jin, Gaochi Xu, Ruiyin Guo, Jianmin Wang, Ren Lai
Summary: With the increase in drug-resistant bacteria, the study and development of new antibacterial drugs have become important. This study found that three antimicrobial peptides derived from goat submandibular glands have potent antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity against mammalian cells, making them potential candidates for the development of novel antibacterial agents.
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Lauren Hellewell, Nakisa Malek Gilani, Christopher James Stanton, Ludovic Pelligand, Henrik Franzyk, Luca Guardabassi, Liam Good
Summary: Synthetic peptidomimetics exhibit similar in vitro potency to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and net charge significantly affects the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values.
FUTURE MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Chonghe Zhang, Junyi Wang, Zhenyang Lin, Qing Ye
Summary: In this study, a series of 3D analogues of 9-borafluorenes were synthesized and characterized, confirming their Lewis superacidity and discovering the mechanism behind the emergence of different properties.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kathryn K. K. Oi, Kerstin Moehle, Matthias Schuster, Oliver Zerbe
Summary: Researchers have developed new antibiotic analogues that are effective against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. However, these analogues do not work well against Acinetobacter baumannii, despite being able to bind to the LptA protein associated with LPS transport in vitro. This study provides insights into the structural reasons why these analogues are not active against A. baumannii LptA.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deborah E. Shalev
Summary: Metal chelation plays an important role in providing structural stability and forming reactive centers in metalloproteins. Peptide-metal complexes, which exist in nature, offer a way to study protein binding regions and control experimental variables effectively.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Claudia Herrera-Leon, Francisco Ramos-Martin, Hassan El Btaouri, Viviane Antonietti, Pascal Sonnet, Laurent Martiny, Fabrizia Zevolini, Chiara Falciani, Catherine Sarazin, Nicola D'Amelio
Summary: This study demonstrates that specific arrangements of amino acids in anticancer peptides significantly impact their activity, with changes in amino acid order or substitutions in key motifs affecting the efficacy against cancer cell lines. The study also reveals that the insertion capability in cancer-mimicking membranes is crucial for the activity of the peptides, with specific amino acids playing a role in anchoring and insertion into these membranes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natalia Karska, Malgorzata Graul, Emilia Sikorska, Magdalena J. Slusarz, Igor Zhukov, Franciszek Kasprzykowski, Agnieszka Kubis, Andrea D. Lipinska, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo
Summary: Herpesviruses are common viruses infecting human and animal bodies, with the capability to evade host immune responses by blocking TAP complex. The UL49.5 protein encoded by BoHV-1 acts as a TAP transporter inhibitor, with specific amino acid residues playing crucial roles in its activity.
CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Milena Chraniuk, Miroslawa Panasiuk, Lilit Hovhannisyan, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski, Lidia Ciolek, Anna Wozniak, Agnieszka Kubis, Natalia Karska, Zbigniew Jaegermann, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Monika Biernat, Beata Gromadzka
Summary: Assessing the toxicity of new biomaterials for bone regeneration is challenging, as single toxicity parameters may not provide a comprehensive evaluation. This study presents the results of two assays used to assess the toxicity of material extracts and investigates the impact of different types of controls on the results.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Katarzyna Kuncewicz, Claire Battin, Katarzyna Wegrzyn, Adam Sieradzan, Anna Wardowska, Emilia Sikorska, Irma Giedrojc, Pamela Smardz, Michal Pikula, Peter Steinberger, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Marta Spodzieja
Summary: Cancer immunotherapy using blockade of immune checkpoints has achieved success, but antibodies have weaknesses, so finding alternative compounds is necessary. This study focused on designing peptides to disrupt the BTLA/HVEM complex and identified two peptides that interact with HVEM and possess blocking capacities, indicating their potential as immunomodulation agents for future cancer immunotherapy.
BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Pawel Sosnowski, Piotr Sass, Paulina Slonimska, Rafal Platek, Jolanta Kaminska, Jakub Baczynski Keller, Piotr Mucha, Grazyna Peszynska-Sularz, Artur Czupryn, Michal Pikula, Arkadiusz Piotrowski, Lukasz Janus, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Piotr Skowron, Pawel Sachadyn
Summary: The ear pinna is a complex tissue consisting of various components such as dermis, cartilage, muscles, vessels, and nerves. Healing of ear pinna wounds can vary among different species, with some mammals having the ability to regenerate while others do not. In this study, researchers tested the effects of different bioactive agents on wound closure in mice and identified several substances that can enhance regeneration. They also observed the presence of nerve fiber networks and blood vessels in the regenerated areas of the ear pinna.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Tomasz Wasilewski, Bartosz Szulczynski, Dominik Dobrzyniewski, Weronika Jakubaszek, Jacek Gebicki, Wojciech Kamysz
Summary: Cleaning a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is crucial for regenerating biosensors. This article compares three methods (electrochemical, oxygen plasma, and Piranha solution) for cleaning QCM, and evaluates their effectiveness through resonant frequency measurements. The results show that all methods are suitable for cleaning peptide-based biosensors, but Piranha method is the most invasive.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ekaterina Pivovarova, Alina Climova, Marcin Swiatkowski, Marek Staszewski, Krzysztof Walczynski, Marek Dziegielewski, Marta Bauer, Wojciech Kamysz, Anna Krzeslak, Pawel Jozwiak, Agnieszka Czylkowska
Summary: This study synthesized three new copper coordination compounds containing thiazole-based derivatives, evaluated their structures and physicochemical characterization, studied pharmacokinetics using SwissADME, and expressed antimicrobial activity as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) based on computational and MTT analysis results.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Iga Biskupek, Cezary Czaplewski, Justyna Sawicka, Emilia Ilowska, Maria Dzierzynska, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Adam Liwo
Summary: The UNited RESidue (UNRES) model was used to study the aggregation behavior of 20 peptides with different lengths. The majority of peptides showed inter-strand beta-sheet formation, except for glutamine- and asparagine-rich peptides, which require modification of the UNRES model.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Oktawian Stachurski, Damian Neubauer, Aleksandra Walewska, Emilia Ilowska, Marta Bauer, Sylwia Bartoszewska, Karol Sikora, Aleksandra Hac, Dariusz Wyrzykowski, Adam Prahl, Wojciech Kamysz, Emilia Sikorska
Summary: This study investigates short cationic antimicrobial lipopeptides with a high propensity to fibrillate, which exhibit high activity and stability on bacterial membranes, and low cytotoxicity against human cells. The findings suggest that monomers are the main active form and the target of action of the lipopeptides is the bacterial membrane.
Article
Microbiology
Simona Fioriti, Oscar Cirioni, Oriana Simonetti, Lucia Franca, Bianca Candelaresi, Francesco Pallotta, Damian Neubauer, Elzbieta Kamysz, Wojciech Kamysz, Benedetta Canovari, Lucia Brescini, Gianluca Morroni, Francesco Barchiesi
Summary: Aspergillosis, caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, is a group of diseases that are severe, especially in patients with co-morbidities. The first-line therapy, triazoles, is facing an increasing incidence of drug resistance. Therefore, there is a need for new antifungal molecules. This study tested the antifungal activity of two lipopeptides against azole-resistant A. fumigatus. The lipopeptides showed antifungal activity with dose-dependent effects and inhibited hyphae growth. These findings highlight the potential of lipopeptides as effective alternatives to overcome antifungal resistance.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Malgorzata Sobocinska, Jakub Fichna, Artur Gieldon, Piotr Skowron, Elzbieta Kamysz
Summary: Pharmacotherapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is challenging and the search for novel anti-IBD agents is crucial. This study focused on synthesizing lipidated analogs of sialorphin and evaluating their impact on the degradation of Met-enkephalin by NEP. The most effective inhibitor identified (peptide VIII) was further assessed for its potential in colitis treatment in vivo. The results indicate that lipidation of sialorphin could be a promising direction in the development of NEP inhibitors for enkephalin protection.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Monika Biernat, Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou, Karolina Rudnicka, Przemyslaw Plocinski, Joanna Pagacz, Paulina Tymowicz-Grzyb, Anna Wozniak, Marcin Wlodarczyk, Mateusz M. Urbaniak, Agnieszka Krupa, Paulina Rusek-Wala, Natalia Karska, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo
Summary: This study investigates a novel two-step modification strategy to improve the compatibility and mechanical strength of composite materials for bone regeneration. The modified composite shows promising potential for biomedical engineering applications.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elzbieta Kamysz, Emilia Sikorska, Marta Bauer, Karol Sikora, Damian Neubauer
Summary: The positioning and extent of lipidation have a significant impact on the antibacterial and hemolytic activities of lipopeptides. The lipidation site and extent are closely related to the bacterial specificity of the lipopeptides. Lipopeptides with a higher net charge exhibit better selectivity. Overall charge of lipopeptides plays a pivotal role in their biological activity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Lukasz Pawlowski, Szymon Mania, Adrianna Banach-Kopec, Michal Bartmanski, Anna Ronowska, Kacper Jurak, Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryn, Natalia Karska, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Andrzej Zielinski
Summary: In this study, the surface of Ti13Nb13Zr alloy was modified by electrophoretic deposition of a chitosan coating with a covalently attached Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide. The prepared coatings exhibited excellent corrosion resistance and antimicrobial activity, as well as high compatibility with bone cells. However, the adhesion of the coatings was considered weak.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART B-APPLIED BIOMATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
C. A. B. dos Santos, A. Ujcic, M. Sobotka, P. Jurczak, S. Lach, S. Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, K. Szustakiewicz
Summary: PLA films with 1% amber extract were prepared by solvent mixing. The addition of amber extract imparted a yellow hue to the films and affected their crystallinity. The annealed films showed a slight increase in crystalline phase without any change in transparency.
JOURNAL OF VINYL & ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natalia Karska, Igor Zhukov, Andrea D. Lipinska, Sylwia Rodziewicz-Motowidlo, Pawel Krupa
Summary: The UL49.5 protein encoded by HSV-1 has a unique structure with a flexible extracellular N-terminus, a long transmembrane alpha-helix, and a short unordered C-terminus, unlike the homologs from other herpesviruses. This structural information sheds light on the lack of biological activity of UL49.5 in inhibiting the TAP-dependent antigen presentation pathway.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES
(2023)