Silaffins are highly charged proteins which are one of the major contributing compounds that are thought to be responsible for the formation of the hierarchically structured silica-based cell walls of diatoms. Here we describe the synthesis of an oligo-propyleneamine substituted lysine derivative and its incorporation into the KXXK peptide motif occurring repeatedly in silaffins. N(ε)-alkylatio...

Although the IGD amino acid motif (iso-gly-asp) is a highly conserved feature of the fibronectin type I module, no biological activity has as yet been ascribed to it. We have previously reported that the gelatin-binding domain of fibronectin stimulates the migration of human skin fibroblasts into native, but not denatured, type I collagen substrata. Two IGD-containing type I modules are present...

Bacterial display technology offers a number of advantages over competing display technologies (e.g, phage) for the rapid discovery and development of peptides with interaction targeted to materials ranging from biological hazards through inorganic metals. We have previously shown that discovery of synthetic peptide reagents utilizing bacterial display technology is relatively simple and rapid ...

Taking advantage of the cluster effect observed in multivalent peptides, this work describes antifungal activity and possible mechanism of action of tetravalent peptide (B4010) which carries 4 copies of the sequence RGRKVVRR through a branched lysine core. B4010 displayed better antifungal properties than natamycin and amphotericin B. The peptide retained significant activity in the presence of...

OBJECTIVE To identify T-cell epitopes of Ag85B by analysis of its sequence for prediction to bind HLA-DR alleles and evaluate the predicted peptides for recognition by T cells in antigen-induced proliferation assays. MATERIALS/SUBJECTS AND METHODS The complete sequence of Ag85B was analyzed for HLA-DR binding prediction to 51 HLA-DR alleles by using a virtual matrix-based prediction program (...

In studying the subdominant status of two cysteine-containing influenza virus nuclear protein (NP) determinants (NP39-47 and NP218-226) restricted by H-2Kd, we found that the antigenicity of synthetic peptides was enhanced 10-100-fold by treatment with reducing agents, despite the fact that the affinity for Kd was not enhanced. Reducing agents also markedly enhanced the immunogenicity of cystei...

Synthetic peptides designed using criteria derived from statistical analyses of beta-barrel membrane proteins form channels in synthetic membranes at very low peptide:lipid ratios.

BACKGROUND Complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) are immunoglobulin (Ig) hypervariable domains that determine specific antibody (Ab) binding. We have shown that synthetic CDR-related peptides and many decapeptides spanning the variable region of a recombinant yeast killer toxin-like antiidiotypic Ab are candidacidal in vitro. An alanine-substituted decapeptide from the variable region of t...

Synthetic peptides patterned on the amino acid sequences found in two exofacial regions of band 3 protein (residues 824-829 of loop 7 and residues 547-553 of loop 3) blocked, in a dose-dependent fashion, the in vitro adherence of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to C32 amelanotic melanoma cells. Intravenous infusion of these synthetic peptides into Aotus and Saimiri monkeys infected ...