Origami of KR-12 Designed Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Potential Applications.

This review describes the discovery, structure, activity, engineered constructs, and applications of KR-12, the smallest antibacterial peptide of human cathelicidin LL-37, the production of which can be induced under sunlight or by vitamin D. It is a moonlighting peptide that shows both antimicrobial and immune-regulatory effects. Compared to LL-37, KR-12 is extremely appealing due to its small size, lack of toxicity, and narrow-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

Sequence Permutation Generates Peptides with Different Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activities.

Antibiotic resistance poses a threat to our society, and 10 million people could die by 2050. To design potent antimicrobials, we made use of the antimicrobial peptide database (APD). Using the database filtering technology, we identified a useful template and converted it into an effective peptide WW291 against methicillin-resistant (MRSA).

Two distinct amphipathic peptide antibiotics with systemic efficacy.

Antimicrobial peptides are important candidates for developing new classes of antibiotics because of their potency against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Current research focuses on topical applications and it is unclear how to design peptides with systemic efficacy. To address this problem, we designed two potent peptides by combining database-guided discovery with structure-based design.

Design of Antimicrobial Peptides: Progress Made with Human Cathelicidin LL-37.

The incorporation of the innate immune system into humans is essential for survival and health due to the rapid replication of invading microbes and the delayed action of the adaptive immune system. Antimicrobial peptides are important components of human innate immunity. Over 100 such peptides have been identified in various human tissues.

A Peptide-Nanoparticle System with Improved Efficacy against Multidrug Resistant Bacteria.

The recent rise of multidrug resistant microbial strains requires development of new and novel therapeutic alternatives. In this study, we present a novel antibacterial system that comprises of modified naturally abundant antimicrobial peptides in conjugation with silver nanoparticles. Further, we propose a simple route to incorporate a cysteine residue either at the N- or C-terminal of the parent peptide.

Host defense antimicrobial peptides as antibiotics: design and application strategies.

This review deals with the design and application strategies of new antibiotics based on naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The initial candidate can be designed based on three-dimensional structure or selected from a library of peptides from natural or laboratory sources followed by optimization via structure-activity relationship studies. There are also advanced application strategies such as induction of AMP expression from host cells by various factors (e.