Protein and Peptide Letters - Volume 27, Issue 11, 2020

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a group of short peptides in vertebrates, independently or derived from big proteins (AMP precursors), for innate immune adaptation to fight against exogenous pathogens. Therefore, they provide attractive templates for us to develop new alternatives to antibiotics, which will relieve the threats of microbial resistance and drug residual. Fish reside in various environments; however, AMP re Read More

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to a family of metal-dependent endopeptidases which contain a series of conserved pro-peptide domains and catalytic domains. MMPs have been widely found in plants, animals, and microorganisms. MMPs are involved in regulating numerous physiological processes, pathological processes, and immune responses. In addition, MMPs play a key role in disease occurrence, includi Read More

Ribosome is primarily regarded as the committing organelle for the translation process. Besides the expansion of its function from a translational machine for protein synthesis to a regulatory platform for protein quality control, the activity regulation and recycling of ribosome have been deepened significantly. Recent advances have confirmed a novel mechanism in the regulation of ribosome activity when a cell encounte Read More

The cell membrane is a protective layer that strictly controls the passage of molecules restricting the delivery of biomolecules such as drugs, oligonucleotides, peptides, and siRNA into the cells. This shortcoming has been overcome by the discovery of Cell-Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) that has undergone 30 years of evolution. To date, CPPs are largely modified to improve its efficacy and to suit the different delivery applicati Read More

Background: Protein drugs have disadvantages, such as short half-lives, unstable biological activities, and low utilization efficiency. Objective: In this paper, a porous ion-responsive targeted drug delivery system was designed, combining biodegradable carriers with ion exchange technology to overcome problems for protein drug delivery systems. Methods: Carboxymethyl Chitosan Porous Microspheres (CCPM) were prepared u Read More

Background: B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) can activate signaling pathways by binding to specific receptors. BR3 (BAFF receptor) shows a unique selectivity for BAFF ligand, while B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) exhibits a stronger interaction between APRIL-BCMA rather than BAFF-BCMA interaction. Objective: The combined domains were fused with IgG1 Fc to better understa Read More

Background: Ciprofloxacin (Cip) is the most commonly used quinolone in clinical practice; however large-scale use has favored the increase of multiresistant pathogenic microorganisms. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) appear to be a promising alternative in potentiating these conventional drugs. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the peptide Lys-[Trp6]hy-a1 (lys-a1) on the antimicrobial and antibio Read More

Background: Tetanus is an infectious disease caused by Clostridium secreting tetanus toxin in anaerobic environment. The fragment C of Tetanus toxin (TTc) has been widely studied as a candidate vaccine to replace the existing tetanus toxoid vaccine. Objective: In this study, we established a simple method to purify recombinant protein TTc with ion-exchange chromatography from Escherichia coli expression systems. Methods Read More

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), especially the drug-resistant MTB, poses serious challenges to human healthcare worldwide. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a vital role in immune defense against MTB. Objective: To identify novel CTL epitopes that could induce cellular immunity against MTB infections. Methods: The HLA-A*0201 restricted CTL epitopes of the drug-resistant prote Read More

Background: There is no effective and safe preventive/therapeutics vaccine against HIV-1 worldwide. Different viral proteins such as Nef, and two regions of Env including; variable loop of gp120 (V3) and membrane proximal external region of gp41 (MPER) are particularly important for vaccine development in different strategies and they are also the primary targets of cellular and humoral immune responses. On the other side, Read More

Background: Antiplatelet, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic activities of stem bromelain (EC 3.4.22.4) are well described, but more studies are still required to clearly define its usefulness as an antithrombotic agent. Besides, although some effects of bromelain are linked to its proteolytic activity, few studies were performed taking into account this relationship. Objective: We aimed at comparing the effects of stem bromel Read More

Background: Most of the proteomic studies in Escherichia coli have focussed on pathogenic strains, while very few studies have studied the commensal strains. It is important to study the commensal strains because under the selective pressure of their habitat, commensal strains might serve as reservoirs of virulent and pathogenic strains. Objective: In this study, we have performed a comparative proteomic analysis of Read More