Selective Targeting of Microbes by Peptides of the Innate Immune System

Grant number: 1044327 | Funding period: 2013 - 2015

Completed

Abstract

Cytolytic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key components of the innate immune system of many organisms including man. They act by disrupting the outer membranes of bacteria, fungi and enveloped viruses. These simple peptides are highly specific and increasingly seen as a new source of antibiotic agents capable of combating the rising resistance to current drugs. Our aim is to determine the mechanism by which cytolytic AMPs act and to understand the factors that give rise to membrane and cell specificity.

Related publications (5)

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Effect of phosphatidylcholine bilayer thickness and molecular order on the binding of the antimicrobial peptide maculatin 1.1

TH Lee, MA Sani, S Overall, F Separovic, MI Aguilar

2018-02-01

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) interact directly with bacterial membrane lipids. Thus, changes in the lipid composition of bacteria..

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Examination of the Interaction between a Membrane Active Peptide and Artificial Bilayers by Dual Polarisation Interferometry

Jennifer AE Payne, Tzong-Hsien Lee, Marilyn A Anderson, Marie-Isabel Aguilar

2017-01-05

Examining the interaction of peptides with lipid bilayers to determine binding kinetics is often performed using surface plasmon r..

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The plant defensin NaD1 introduces membrane disorder through a specific interaction with the lipid, phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate

JAE Payne, MR Bleackley, TH Lee, TMA Shafee, IKH Poon, MD Hulett, MI Aguilar, NL Van Der Weerden, MA Anderson

2016-06-01

Plant defensins interact with phospholipids in bilayers as part of their cytotoxic activity. Solanaceous class II defensins with t..

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Dye-release assay for investigation of antimicrobial peptide activity in a competitive lipid environment

MA Sani, E Gagne, JD Gehman, TC Whitwell, F Separovic

2014-01-01

A dye-release method for investigating the effect of a competitive lipid environment on the activity of two membrane-disrupting an..

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Proline facilitates membrane insertion of the antimicrobial peptide maculatin 1.1 via surface indentation and subsequent lipid disordering

DI Fernandez, TH Lee, MA Sani, MI Aguilar, F Separovic

2013-04-02

The role of proline in the disruption of membrane bilayer structure upon antimicrobial peptide (AMP) binding was studied. Specific..

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