An Isodipeptide Building Block for Microwave-Assisted Solid-Phase Synthesis of Difficult Sequence-Containing Peptides

Study on antimicrobial activity of sturgeon skin mucus polypeptides (Rational Design, Self-Assembly and Application)

Despite the favorable biocompatibility of natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), their scarcity limits their practical application. Through rational design, the activity of AMPs can be enhanced to expand their application. In this study, we selected a natural sturgeon epidermal mucus peptide, AP-16 (APATPAAPALLPLWLL), as the model molecule and studied its conformational regulation and antimicrobial activity through amino acid substitutions and N-terminal lipidation. The structural and morphological transitions of the peptide self-assemblies were investigated using circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy. Following amino acid substitution, the conformation of AL-16 (AKATKAAKALLKLWLL) did not change. Following N-terminal alkylation, the C8-AL-16 and C12-AL-16 conformations changed from random coil to β-sheet or α-helix, and the self-assembly changed from nanofibers to nanospheres. AL-16, C8-AL-16, and C8-AL-16 presented significant antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas and Shewanella at low concentrations. N-terminal alkylation effectively extended the shelf life of Litopenaeus vannamei. These results support the application of natural AMPs.

Peptide-Based Nanovaccines in the Treatment of Cervical Cancer: A Review of Recent Advances

Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs), such as HPV-16 and HPV-18, can induce cervical cancer in humans. The disease carries high morbidity and mortality among females worldwide. Inoculation with prophylactic HPV vaccines, such as Gardasil^® or Cervarix^®, is the predominant method of preventing cervical cancer in females 6 to 26 years of age. However, despite the availability of commercial prophylactic HPV vaccines, no therapeutic HPV vaccines to eliminate existing HPV infections have been approved. Peptide-based vaccines, which form one of the most potent vaccine platforms, have been broadly investigated to overcome this shortcoming. Peptide-based vaccines are especially effective in inducing cellular immune responses and eradicating tumor cells when combined with nanoscale adjuvant particles and delivery systems. This review summarizes progress in the development of peptide-based nanovaccines against HPV infection.