beta-Defensins are mammalian antimicrobial peptides that share a unique disulfide-bonding motif of six conserved cysteines. An intragenic polymorphism of the DEFB1 gene that changes a highly conserved Cys to Ser in the peptide coding region has recently been described. The deduced peptide cannot form three disulfide bonds, as one of the cysteines is unpaired. We have determined the cysteine connectivities of a corresponding synthetic hBD-1(Ser35) peptide, investigated the structure by circular dichroism spectroscopy, and assayed the in vitro antimicrobial activity. Despite a different arrangement of the disulfides, hBD-1(Ser35) proved as active as hBD-1 against the microorganisms tested. This activity likely depends on the ability of hBD-1(Ser35) to adopt an amphipathic conformation in hydrophobic environment, similar to the wild type peptide, as suggested by CD spectroscopy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-291X(02)00267-X | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
Urinalysis, as a non-invasive and efficient diagnostic method, is very important but faces great challenges due to the complex compositions of urine and limited naturally occurring biomarkers for diseases. Herein, by leveraging the intrinsic absence of endogenous fluorinated interference, a strategy with the enzymatically activated assembly of synthetic fluorinated peptide for cholestatic liver injury (CLI) diagnosis and treatment through F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) urinalysis and efficient drug retention is developed. Specifically, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), overexpressed in the liver of CLI mice, triggers the assembly of fluorinated peptide, thus, directing the traffic and dynamic distribution of the synthetic biomarkers after administration, whereas CLI mice display much slower clearance of peptides through urine as compared with healthy counterparts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Virol
January 2025
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
The molecular mechanisms by which vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypical member of the poxviridae family, reprograms host cell metabolism remain largely unexplored. Additionally, cells sense and respond to fluctuating nutrient availability, thereby modulating metabolic pathways to ensure cellular homeostasis. Understanding how VACV modulates metabolic pathways in response to nutrient signals is crucial for understanding viral replication mechanisms, with the potential for developing antiviral therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Bacteriol
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Howard Taylor Ricketts Laboratory, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Protein secretion is an essential cell process in bacteria, required for cell envelope biogenesis, export of virulence factors, and acquisition of nutrients, among other important functions. In the Sec secretion pathway, signal peptide-bearing precursors are recognized by the SecA ATPase and pushed across the membrane through a translocon channel made of the proteins SecY, SecE, and SecG. The Sec pathway has been extensively studied in the model organism , but the Sec pathways of other bacteria such as the human pathogen differ in important ways from this model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Environ Microbiol
January 2025
Clinical Infection Department, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Unlabelled: Remote polar regions offer unique opportunities and significant challenges for antimicrobial resistance research in a near-pristine environment. While core microbiology techniques continue to have an important role in supporting environmental research, the severe cold climate presents considerable challenges to laboratory research. We explore adaptations required for core bacteriology investigations in polar regions on an unsupported remote expedition c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOMICS
January 2025
Department of Biotechnology, Brainware University, Barasat, West Bengal, India.
Next-generation cancer phenomics by deployment of multiple molecular endophenotypes coupled with high-throughput analyses of gene expression offer veritable opportunities for triangulation of discovery findings in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) research. This study reports differentially expressed genes in NSCLC using publicly available datasets (GSE18842 and GSE229253), uncovering 130 common genes that may potentially represent crucial molecular signatures of NSCLC. Additionally, network analyses by GeneMANIA and STRING revealed significant coexpression and interaction patterns among these genes, with four notable hub genes-, , and -identified as pivotal in NSCLC progression.
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