Combined Bioinformatic and Rational Design Approach To Develop Antimicrobial Peptides against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

ABSTRACT: Drug-resistant pathogens are a growing problem, and novel strategies are needed to combat this threat. Among the most significant of these resistant pathogens is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is an unusually difficult microbial target due to its complex membrane. Here, we design peptides for specific activity against M. tuberculosis using a combination of "database filtering" bioinformatics, protein engineering, and de novo design. Several variants of these peptides are structurally characterized to validate the design process. The designed peptides exhibit potent activity (MIC values as low as 4 μM) against M. tuberculosis and also exhibit broad activity against a host of other clinically relevant pathogenic bacteria such as Gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus) and Gram-negative bac

SUBMITTER: Pearson CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4862459 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature