Neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma of the cervix: A case report.

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) has been found in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma and respiratory tract infections. Merkel cell carcinoma is a primary aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. It has been demonstrated that MCPyV can be transmitted during sexual activity and may be present in the oral and anogenital mucosa.

In Vitro and In Vivo Anti- Activity and Structural Analysis of Killer Peptide (KP)-Derivatives.

The previously described decapeptide AKVTMTCSAS (killer peptide, KP), derived from the variable region of a recombinant yeast killer toxin-like anti-idiotypic antibody, proved to exert a variety of antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory activities. It also showed a peculiar self-assembly ability, likely responsible for the therapeutic effect in animal models of systemic and mucosal candidiasis. The present study analyzed the biological and structural properties of peptides derived from KP by substitution or deletion of the first residue, leaving unchanged the remaining amino acids.

A Peptide Found in Human Serum, Derived from the C-Terminus of Albumin, Shows Antifungal Activity In Vitro and In Vivo.

The growing problem of antimicrobial resistance highlights the need for alternative strategies to combat infections. From this perspective, there is a considerable interest in natural molecules obtained from different sources, which are shown to be active against microorganisms, either alone or in association with conventional drugs. In this paper, peptides with the same sequence of fragments, found in human serum, derived from physiological proteins, were evaluated for their antifungal activity.

Novel Activity of a Synthetic Decapeptide Against Tachyzoites.

The killer peptide KP is a synthetic decapeptide derived from the sequence of the variable region of a recombinant yeast killer toxin-like microbicidal single-chain antibody. KP proved to exert significant activities against diverse microbial and viral pathogens through different mechanisms of action, but little is known of its effect on apicomplexan protozoa. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the activity of KP against , a globally widespread protozoan parasite of great medical interest.

Fungicidal activity of peptides encoded by immunoglobulin genes.

Evidence from previous works disclosed the antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-tumour and/or immunomodulatory activity exerted, through different mechanisms of action, by peptides expressed in the complementarity-determining regions or even in the constant region of antibodies, independently from their specificity and isotype. Presently, we report the selection, from available databases, of peptide sequences encoded by immunoglobulin genes for the evaluation of their potential biological activities. Synthetic peptides representing the translated products of J lambda and J heavy genes proved to act in vitro against pathogenic fungi, entering yeast cells and causing their death, and exerted a therapeutic effect in a Galleria mellonella model of infection by Candida albicans.