Biomimetic peptide conjugates as emerging strategies for controlled release from protein-based materials.

Biopolymers, such as collagens, elastin, silk fibroin, spider silk, fibrin, keratin, and resilin have gained significant interest for their potential biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical properties. This review focuses on the design and integration of biomimetic peptides into these biopolymer platforms to control the release of bioactive molecules, thereby enhancing their functionality for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and silk fibroin repeats, for example, demonstrate how engineered peptides can mimic natural protein domains to modulate material properties and drug release profiles.

Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor from durian (Durio zibethinus) employs a distinct loop for trypsin inhibition.

Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitors are ubiquitous in plants. They have been proposed to be a part of a defense mechanism against herbivores. Trypsin inhibitors also have potential applications in the biotechnology industry, such as in mammalian cell culture.

A combination of structure-based virtual screening and experimental strategies to identify the potency of caffeic acid ester derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 3CL inhibitor from an in-house database.

Drug development requires significant time and resources, and computer-aided drug discovery techniques that integrate chemical and biological spaces offer valuable tools for the process. This study focused on the field of COVID-19 therapeutics and aimed to identify new active non-covalent inhibitors for 3CL, a key protein target. By combining in silico and in vitro approaches, an in-house database was utilized to identify potential inhibitors.

Alpha and gamma mangostins inhibit wild-type B SARS-CoV-2 more effectively than the SARS-CoV-2 variants and the major target is unlikely the 3C-like protease.

Background: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and immunomodulatory drugs are important for treating clinically severe patients with respiratory distress symptoms. Alpha- and gamma-mangostins (AM and GM) were previously reported as potential 3C-like protease (3CL) and Angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor 2 (ACE2)-binding inhibitors .

Objective: We aimed to evaluate two active compounds, AM and GM, from for their antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 in live virus culture systems and their cytotoxicities using standard methods.

Overlaid Lateral Flow Immunoassay for the Simultaneous Detection of Two Variant-Specific SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies.

COVID-19 vaccines have been provided to the general public to build immunity since the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. Once vaccinated, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (NAbs-COVID-19) are needed for excellent protection against COVID-19. However, monitoring NAbs-COVID-19 is complicated and requires hospital visits.

Optimizing protein delivery rate from silk fibroin hydrogel using silk fibroin-mimetic peptides conjugation.

Controlled release of proteins, such as growth factors, from biocompatible silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel is valuable for its use in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and other biological systems. To achieve this, we introduced silk fibroin-mimetic peptides (SFMPs) with the repeating unit (GAGAGS). Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a model protein, our results showed that SFMPs did not affect the GFP function when conjugated to it.

Computational design of novel nanobodies targeting the receptor binding domain of variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for effective therapeutic and diagnostic strategies to manage the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, the emergence of numerous variants of concern (VOCs) has made it challenging to develop targeted therapies that are broadly specific in neutralizing the virus. In this study, we aimed to develop neutralizing nanobodies (Nbs) using computational techniques that can effectively neutralize the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs.

Identification of Promising Sulfonamide Chalcones as Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL through Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Experimental Approaches.

3CL is a viable target for developing antiviral therapies against the coronavirus. With the urgent need to find new possible inhibitors, a structure-based virtual screening approach was developed. This study recognized 75 pharmacologically bioactive compounds from our in-house library of 1052 natural product-based compounds that satisfied drug-likeness criteria and exhibited good bioavailability and membrane permeability.

-Containing α-Mangostin Analogs via Smiles Rearrangement as the Promising Cytotoxic, Antitrypanosomal, and SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitory Agents.

New -containing xanthone analogs of α-mangostin were synthesized via one-pot Smiles rearrangement. Using cesium carbonate in the presence of 2-chloroacetamide and catalytic potassium iodide, α-mangostin () was subsequently transformed in three steps to provide ether , amide , and amine in good yields at an optimum ratio of 1:3:3, respectively. The evaluation of the biological activities of α-mangostin and analogs - was described.

Effects of Chemical Additives in Refolding Buffer on Recombinant Human BMP-2 Dimerization and the Bioactivity on SaOS-2 Osteoblasts.

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) is a promising osteogenic agent in tissue engineering. BMP-2 is usually expressed in owing to the high yield and low cost, but the protein is expressed as inclusion bodies. Thus, the bottleneck for BMP-2 production in is the refolding process.

Promising SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor ligand-binding modes evaluated using LB-PaCS-MD/FMO.

Parallel cascade selection molecular dynamics-based ligand binding-path sampling (LB-PaCS-MD) was combined with fragment molecular orbital (FMO) calculations to reveal the ligand path from an aqueous solution to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M) active site and to customise a ligand-binding pocket suitable for delivering a potent inhibitor. Rubraxanthone exhibited mixed-inhibition antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 M, relatively low cytotoxicity, and high cellular inhibition. However, the atomic inhibition mechanism remains ambiguous.

Identification of repurposing therapeutics toward SARS-CoV-2 main protease by virtual screening.

SARS-CoV-2 causes the current global pandemic coronavirus disease 2019. Widely-available effective drugs could be a critical factor in halting the pandemic. The main protease (3CLpro) plays a vital role in viral replication; therefore, it is of great interest to find inhibitors for this enzyme.

Discovery of C-12 dithiocarbamate andrographolide analogues as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: and studies.

A global crisis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted millions of people's lives throughout the world. In parallel to vaccine development, identifying potential antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 has become an urgent need to combat COVID-19. One of the most attractive drug targets for discovering anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents is the main protease (M), which plays a pivotal role in the viral life cycle.

Semi-Synthesis of -Aryl Amide Analogs of Piperine from and Evaluation of Their Antitrypanosomal, Antimalarial, and Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Activities.

, or black pepper, produces piperine, an alkaloid that has diverse pharmacological activities. In this study, -aryl amide piperine analogs were prepared by semi-synthesis involving the saponification of piperine () to yield piperic acid () followed by esterification to obtain compounds , , and . The compounds were examined for their antitrypanosomal, antimalarial, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 main protease activities.

Halogenated Baicalein as a Promising Antiviral Agent toward SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease.

The coronavirus disease pandemic is a constant reminder that global citizens are in imminent danger of exposure to emerging infectious diseases. Therefore, developing a technique for inhibitor discovery is essential for effective drug design. Herein, we proposed fragment molecular orbital (FMO)-based virtual screening to predict the molecular binding energy of potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease inhibitors.

Plant-produced SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) variants showed differential binding efficiency with anti-spike specific monoclonal antibodies.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic which is characterized by respiratory illness and severe pneumonia, and currently accounts for > 2.5 million deaths worldwide. Recently, diverse mutations in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in United Kingdom (Alpha) and South Africa (Beta) strains which raise concerns over the potential increase in binding affinity towards the host cell receptor and diminished host neutralization capabilities.

Interaction of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate with SARS-CoV-2 main protease and its application as a fluorescent probe for inhibitor identification.

The 3C-like main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (3CL) is responsible for the cleavage of the viral polyprotein. This process is essential for the viral life cycle. Therefore, 3CL is a promising target to develop antiviral drugs for COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

Streptococcus agalactiae amylomaltase offers insight into the transglycosylation mechanism and the molecular basis of thermostability among amylomaltases.

Amylomaltase (AM) catalyzes transglycosylation of starch to form linear or cyclic oligosaccharides with potential applications in biotechnology and industry. In the present work, a novel AM from the mesophilic bacterium Streptococcus agalactiae (SaAM), with 18-49% sequence identity to previously reported AMs, was characterized. Cyclization and disproportionation activities were observed with the optimum temperature of 30 °C and 40 °C, respectively.

Biochemical and structural characterization of a recombinant fibrinogen-related lectin from Penaeus monodon.

Fibrinogen-related lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins of the innate immune system that recognize glycan structures on microbial surfaces. These innate immune lectins are crucial for invertebrates as they do not rely on adaptive immunity for pathogen clearance. Here, we characterize a recombinant fibrinogen-related lectin PmFREP from the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon expressed in the Trichoplusia ni insect cell.

Biochemical and Structural Investigation of GnnA in the Lipopolysaccharide Biosynthesis Pathway of .

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a crucial component in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria that contributes to both pathogenicity as well as immunity against pathogenic bacteria. Typical LPS contains GlcN disaccharide as the core of lipid A. However, some bacteria such as and contain GlcN3N in lipid A instead.

Perspectives on monoclonal antibody therapy as potential therapeutic intervention for Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).

Last decade witnessed the outbreak of many life-threatening human pathogens including Nipah, Ebola, Chikungunya, Zika, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and more recently novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2). The disease condition associated with novel coronavirus, referred to as Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The emergence of novel coronavirus in 2019 in Wuhan, China marked the third highly pathogenic coronavirus infecting humans in the 21st century.

Structural stabilities of calcium proteins: Human intelectin-1 and frog lectin XEEL.

We extend our study of the structural stability of helical and nonhelical regions in chain A of human intelectin-1 to include a second human intelectin (4WMY) and the frog protein "Xenopus embryonic epidermal lectin" (XEEL). These unique lectins have been shown to recognize carbohydrate residues found exclusively in microbes, thus they could potentially be developed into novel microbe detection and sequestration tools. We believe that by studying the structural stability of these proteins we can provide insights on their biological role and activities.