376results about "Cationic antimicrobial peptides" patented technology

Methods and compositions for modulating development and defense responses are provided. Nucleotide sequences encoding defensin proteins are provided. The sequences can be used in expression cassettes for modulating development, developmental pathways, and defense responses. Transformed plants, plant cells, tissues, and seed are also provided.

The present invention provides a method of identifying agents that enhance innate immunity in a subject. The invention further provides a method of selectively supressing sepsis by suppressing expression of a proinflammatory gene while maintaining expression of an anti-inflammatory gene. Also provided are methods of identifying a polynucleotide or pattern of polynucleotides regulated by one or more sepsis or inflammatory inducing agents and inhibited by a peptide is described, methods of identifying a pattern of polynucleotide expression for inhibition of an inflammatory or septic response, and compounds and agents identified by the methods of the invention.

The invention relates to a molecule comprising at least the amino acid sequence K X K X1 X2 X K G X wherein X is any amino acid residue X1, and X2 is K or R and wherein said molecule have a length of from about 10 to about 100 amino acid residues or an analogue thereof The invention also relates to compositions comprising said molecule and use of the molecule and / or composition of the invention to combat microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, including yeast, and parasites.

The present invention relates to the use of antimicrobial peptides in the inhibition of microbial growth and proliferation. Novel antimicrobial truncated peptides are disclosed which are based upon SMAP 29 and RCAP 18, but which contain a lesser number of amino acid residues yet still retain bactericidal activity. In addition, synthetic peptides based upon the SMAP 29 protein are disclosed which have fewer amino acid residues and include substitutions yet retain substantial activity. The invention also relates to a method of inhibiting microbial growth by administering an effective amount of a peptide in accordance with the invention, or by combining the peptides with other antimicrobial agents or antibiotics.

One embodiment of the invention comprises a method of producing periodic peptides, which can have antimicrobial uses, and further comprises the peptides themselves. A preferred method comprises the synthesis of simple periodic peptides made from polymerizing identical monomer units of four or fewer amino acids, wherein the minimum length of active peptide is 15 or 16 residues and wherein the minimum percentage of cationic residues is at least 25%.

The invention concerns agents with anti-bacterial activity and methods and intermediates for their production. The present invention further concerns the use of such agents for the treatment of bacterial infections in animals, including man. The agents are derivatives of vancomycin-type antibiotics, of structure: V-L-W-X; wherein V is a glycopeptide moiety which inhibits peptidoglycan biosynthesis in bacteria; L is a linking group; W is a peptidic membrane-associating element such as an element based on naturally-occurring animal or bacterial peptide antibiotics; and X is hydrogen or a membrane-insertive element.

Coating compositions having a peptidic antimicrobial additive and an antimicrobial additive of another configuration are provided. The concentrations of the antimicrobial agents within the coating composition are sufficient to synergistically inhibit microbial growth on an inanimate surface coated with the surface coating composition or within a container storing the coating composition. Methods for making and using such compositions to inhibit microbial growth in stored coatings and on susceptible surfaces are also provided.

A peptide with an amino acid composition such that the peptide is amphipathic, cationic and forms a stable alpha-helix and has the following structure comprising at least 12 amino acidsA=an amino acid selected from the basic amino acids Lys,Arg or HisB=an amino acid selected from the aromatic amino acids Phe, Trp or TyrC=an amino acid selected from the group comprising the hydrophobic amino acids Leu, Ile, Val or Ala, andsaid peptide has either the orientation according to the formula or the retro orientation thereof, wherein at least 0-m of the repetitive sequence motifs (A2-B2-C1-A3) have the retro orientation and the remaining repetitive motifs (A2-B2-C1-A3) have the orientation as presented in the formula and wherein,R1-R2- and R3 are a number of amino acids, and whereinm=1-10, preferably 2-8, more preferably 2-5 andn=1-3, a pharmaceutical composition comprising such a peptide application thereof in treatment or diagnosis related to i.a. parasite infection topical and systemic tumors and septic shock.

A novel class of antimicrobial polymeric agents which are designed to exert antimicrobial activity while being stable, non-toxic and avoiding development of resistance thereto and a process of preparing same are disclosed. Further disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions containing same and a method of treating medical conditions associated with pathological microorganisms, a medical device, an imaging probe and a food preservative utilizing same. Further disclosed are conjugates of an amino acid residue and a hydrophobic moiety residue and a process of preparing same.

Methods for the treatment and prevention of microbial infection, such as infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are disclosed, as are adjuvants for use with vaccines against such microbes. The methods use porcine β-defensins, such as porcine β-defensin-1 and are particularly useful for treating or preventing infections caused by gram-negative bacteria, such as pertussis.

Combinatorially generated peptides are provided that have binding affinity for Polytetrafluoroethylene (NY). The peptides may be used to deliver benefit agents to various PTFE surfaces.

Combinatorially generated peptides are provided that have binding affinity for Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The peptides may be used to deliver benefit agents to various PTFE surfaces.

The present invention provides a method of determining or identifying or isolating a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) or analog or derivative thereof having cell-type selectivity and / or at least capable of passing through a Blood Brain Barrier of an animal subject. This invention also provides CPPs and analogs and derivatives thereof, such as those set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 1-27 of the Sequence Listing, and compositions comprising one or more of the CPPs, including conjugates in which a CPP or analog or derivative thereof is linked to a cargo molecule. The invention also provides methods for transporting cargo molecules across cell membranes to specific locations within cells, and for treating, preventing and / or diagnosing diseases that are treatable by a cargo molecule to which a CPP or analog or derivative of the invention is attached. The invention also provides tailored peptide libraries for use in identifying or isolating CPPs.

Disclosed herein are novel antimicrobial peptides with useful, improved, or superior properties such as antimicrobial activity, desirable levels of hemolytic activity, and therapeutic index against a broad range of microorganisms including gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and other organisms having a cellular or structural component of a lipid bilayer membrane. Also provided are methods of making and using such peptides to control microbial growth and in pharmaceutical compositions for treatment or prevention of infections caused by such microorganisms. Certain peptides are disclosed utilizing a structure-based rational design relating to an antimicrobial peptide, V681, with single D- / L-amino acid substitutions or charged residue substitutions in or near the center of the peptide on the nonpolar or polar face. Also disclosed are peptides with one or more amino acids in the D configuration, including peptides with all amino acids in the D configuration. Modified peptide analogs herein can demonstrate one or more properties such as improved antimicrobial activity, specificity, and resistance to degradation. Compositions disclosed herein have useful clinical potential as antibiotics including broad spectrum antibiotics.

Chimeric anti-microbial proteins, compositions, and methods for the therapeutic and prophylactic treatment of plant diseases caused by the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa are provided. The anti-microbial proteins of the invention generally comprise a surface recognition domain polypeptide, capable of binding to a bacterial membrane component, fused to a bacterial lysis domain polypeptide, capable of affecting lysis or rupture of the bacterial membrane, typically via a fused polypeptide linker. In particular, methods and compositions for the treatment or prevention of Pierce's disease of grapevines are provided. Methods for the generation of transgenic Vitus vinefera plants expressing xylem-secreted anti-microbial chimeras are also provided.

The present invention is directed to compositions and methods for the treatment of diseases comprising the administration of compositions comprising one or more peptide(s) having a stimulatory effect on the afflicted host's immune system. Specifically, the invention relates to methods comprising the use of cationic amphipathic peptides having an alpha-helical structure and effecting activation of macrophages when administered in a therapeutically sufficient amount. The methods of the present invention are useful for the treatment of, for example, infectious diseases or cancer.

A novel class of antimicrobial polymeric agents which are designed to exert antimicrobial activity while being stable, non-toxic and avoiding development of resistance thereto and a process of preparing same are disclosed. Further disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions containing same and a method of treating medical conditions associated with pathological microorganisms, a medical device, an imaging probe and a food preservative utilizing same. Further disclosed are conjugates of an amino acid residue and a hydrophobic moiety residue and a process of preparing same.

The present invention relates to a vaccine for increasing the immunogenicity of a tumor antigen thus allowing treatment of cancer, as well as a vaccine that increases the immunogenicity of a viral antigen, thus allowing treatment of viral infection, including immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In particular, the present invention provides a fusion protein comprising a defensin fused to either a tumor antigen or viral antigen which is administered as either a protein or nucleic acid vaccine to elicit an immune response effective in treating cancer or effective in treating or preventing viral infection.

The present invention relates to DNA constructs that can produce antimicrobial materials efficiently from microorganisms and the preparation method thereof. The present invention also relates to the useful vector for the DNA construct. The DNA construct according to the present invention comprises a first gene coding for entire, a part of or a derivative of purF gene and a second gene coding for antimicrobial peptide. According to the present invention, antimicrobial peptides can be mass-produced by the following steps: preparing an expression vector containing a DNA construct comprising a first gene coding for an entire, a part of or a derivative of purF gene and a second gene coding for antimicrobial peptide; transforming the bacterial host cells with the above-mentioned vector, culturing the transformed cell to express the above-mentioned DNA construct; and recovering the above antimicrobial peptide.

Artificial antimicrobial peptides are obtained by alterations in alpha helical portions of a known antimicrobial protein, granulysin. The peptides obtained have significantly improved antimicrobial activity and lack the ability to lyse mammalian cells, which may be toxic to a host. The peptides may be designed according to certain guidelines, and may further be modified by the addition of altered residues and alterations in normal peptide secondary and tertiary structure, including modifications in quaternary (multimeric) structure.

The invention is directed to compositions comprising polyvalent complexes containing a biocompatible polymer backbone to which is attached a plurality of monomeric anti-microbial peptides and to methods for using such complexes to stabilize anti-microbial peptides for treating or preventing a disease or condition resulting from infection with a microbe. Multivalent derivatives of existing antimicrobial peptides in which several peptides are covalently linked have been investigated. The resulting construct may contain up to 30 or more units, and exhibits a significant enhancement of anti-microbial effect relative to the free peptides: on the order of a ten fold improvement in effectiveness, suggesting that higher multimerization can indeed lead to more effective agents. The invention is also directed to the use of such complexes for delivery of anti-viral peptides, in particular, peptides and peptide fragments obtained from salivary agglutinin protein (gp-340) for use in treating or preventing infection with HIV.

Antimicrobial peptides and methods of identifying the same are provided.

Methods and compositions for increasing membrane permeability are provided. One aspect provides protein resulting from a fusion between a membrane-active peptide and second peptide. Nucleic acids, and vectors encoding the, pore forming fusion proteins are also provided.

The present application provides methods of producing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in a cell, for example by expression a fusion protein that includes small ubiquitin related modifier (SUMO) and an AMP in the cell. Also provided are nucleic acid and protein sequences of SUMO-AMP fusion proteins, and kits that include such molecules.

Drug compositions for treatment of one or more inflammatory conditions can includes at least one of a θ-defensin, analog or derivative thereof. Inventive methods include researching θ-defensins, analogs or derivatives thereof for their efficacy with respect to anti-inflammatory effects, and providing such compositions to the marketplace for the purpose of treating inflammatory conditions. Of particular interest are drug compositions effective to produce clinically relevant inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-converting enzyme (TACE) or other proinflammatory proteases, and / or sheddases. it is contemplated that preferred compositions can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer's, osteoarthritis, inflammation-related neurodegenerative and other inflammation-related diseases.

The present invention relates to polypeptides having antimicrobial activity and polynucleotides having a nucleotide sequence which encodes for the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the nucleic acid constructs as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides.

A method for designing polypeptides for the nanofabrication of thin films, coatings, and microcapsules by ELBL for applications in biomedicine and other fields.

The invention relates to an antibacterial and antiviral hybrid peptide as well as a preparation method and application thereof. An amino acid sequence and a nucleotide sequence of the antibacterial and antiviral hybrid peptide are as shown in SEQ ID No. 1 and 2. A gene for coding the antibacterial and antiviral hybrid peptide is cloned to an expression vector pPICZ[alpha]A to obtain a recombinant vector, then Pichia pastoris is converted, methyl alcohol is used for inducing expression, and an expression product is purified to obtain the target antibacterial antiviral hybrid peptide. The antibacterial and antiviral hybrid peptide can prevent and kill various bacteria and viruses, has low probability of resistance, and therefore, can serve as an ideal antibiotic substituent, a people and livestock biological antibacterial and antiviral medicine, a feed additive, a preservative, a sanitizer or the like.