by Queensland University of Technology Credit: Pharmacological Research (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107298 Antimicrobial peptides derived from a crab and a spider may provide the pathway to overcoming drug resistance in advanced melanoma. QUT researchers based at Brisbane’s Translational Research Institute (TRI) have modified the peptides from the Brazilian tarantula and the Japanese horseshoe crab and found they can kill...
Tag: <span>peptides</span>
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Circular peptides in violets may aid in the fight against glioblastoma
September 30, 2024 by Brain Chemistry Labs Wyoming violets. Credit: Dr. Paul Alan Cox, Brain Chemistry LabsGlioblastoma is one of the most serious brain diseases known. More than 45% of brain cancers are gliomas. Only half of glioblastoma patients respond to the FDA-approved chemotherapy temozolomide (TMZ). Even for those patients, the cancer cells quickly evolve...
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Kinetic analysis of protein and peptide aggregation
Peptide-based pharmaceutical technology necessitates the delivery of therapeutic oligopeptides that are designed in a stable state for efficacious application. Following therapeutic peptide isolation or synthesis, peptides are frequently exposed to HPLC purification, synthetic modification, and preparatory treatments for storage over long periods. During any of these processes, spoilage can happen in the form of aggregation,...
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AI tools help uncover enzyme mechanisms for lasso peptides
September 20, 2024 by Ananya Sen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Credit: Nature Chemical Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-024-01727-wLasso peptides are natural products made by bacteria. Their unusual lasso shape endows them with remarkable stability, protecting them from extreme conditions. In a new study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers have constructed and tested models for...
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BNP peptide found to be a culprit in eczema
by Tracey Peake, North Carolina State University Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public DomainResearchers from North Carolina State University have pinpointed a particular peptide’s role in activating atopic dermatitis, or eczema. The work could lead to more effective treatments for the condition. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin condition characterized by itching, irritated and thickened skin at the site...
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Self-Assembling Peptides as a Bioink
FEBRUARY 15TH, 2023 CONN HASTINGS MATERIALS, SURGERY Researchers at Rice University have developed a bioprinting method that uses self-assembling peptides as a bioink. The technique involves using “multidomain peptides” that are hydrophobic at one end and hydrophilic at the other. When the peptides encounter water, they flip over each other to create hydrophobic sandwich structures that stack...
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Researchers Show ‘Encrypted’ Peptides Could be Wellspring of Natural Antibiotics
While biologists and chemists race to develop new antibiotics to combat constantly mutating bacteria, predicted to lead to 10 million deaths by 2050, engineers are approaching the problem through a different lens: finding naturally occurring antibiotics in the human genome. The billions of base pairs in the genome are essentially one long string of code...
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Mimicking nature to provide long-lasting local anesthesia
by Children’s Hospital Boston This schematic shows the peptides P1 and P2 with hydrophobic modifications that enable them to self-assemble into nanostructures that bind to tetrodotoxin (TTX). Credit: Tianjiao Ji, PhD, Kohane lab in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Sept. 13, 2021. Site 1 sodium channel blockers such as tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin are small-molecule drugs with powerful local...
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Scientists inactivate SARS-CoV-2 by ‘tricking’ it with peptides
Share on Pinterest New research suggests a peptide-based nasal spray could inactivate SARS-CoV-2 before it infects cells. Karl Tapales/Getty Images Previous research has shown SARS-CoV-2 causes an infection in a person by entering the body and binding its spike proteins to ACE2 receptors on a cell’s surface. Researchers have designed peptides that resemble the ACE2 receptors targeted by the viral spike proteins....
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New antiviral repurposing study finds peptides that could prevent SARS-CoV-2-ACE2 binding
By Dr. Liji Thomas, MD Jan 15 2021 As the world continues to struggle with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers are busy searching for pharmaceuticals that can effectively counteract the pathogen. This causative agent, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), infects through engagement via its spike protein with the host cell, attaching to the angiotensin-converting...