Shortly after the first case of SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed a public health emergency (PHE) was declared and a multi-agency response was initiated within the US federal government to create and propagate testing capacity. As part of this response, an unprecedented program designated Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech was established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to facilitate the development of point-of-care tests for the COVID-19. The RADx Tech Clinical Studies Core (CSC), located at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMass Chan), with partnering academic, private, and non-governmental organizations around the country, was tasked with developing clinical studies to support this work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeptide-based inhibitors represent a promising approach for the treatment of HIV-1, offering a range of potential advantages, including specificity, low toxicity, and the ability to target various stages of the viral lifecycle. This review outlines the current state of research on peptide-based anti-HIV therapies, highlighting key advancements and identifying future research directions. Over the past few years, there has been significant progress in developing synthetic peptide-based drugs that target various stages of the viral life cycle, including entry and replication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDelivering nucleic acid therapeutics across cell membranes is a significant challenge. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) containing arginine (R), tryptophan (W), and histidine (H) show promise for siRNA delivery. To improve siRNA delivery and silence a model STAT3 gene, we hypothesized that oleyl acylation to CPPs, specifically (WRH), would enhance STAT3 silencing efficiency in breast and ovarian cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are being explored as a potential strategy to combat antibiotic resistance due to their ability to reduce susceptibility to antibiotics. This study explored whether the [RW] peptide mode of action is bacteriostatic or bactericidal using modified two-fold serial dilution and evaluating the synergism between gentamicin and [RW] against () and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) by a checkered board assay. [RW] exhibited bactericidal activity against bacterial isolates (MBC/MIC ≤ 4), with a synergistic effect with gentamicin against (FICI = 0.
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