Antimicrobial and antibiofilm cationic amphipathic peptides

• Grant number: 16/24413-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2017
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal Investigator: Vani Xavier de Oliveira Junior
• Grantee: Marcelo Der Torossian Torres
• Supervisor: Timothy Lu
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/04507-5 - Biological applications of new antimicrobial peptides, BP.DR

Abstract

The increase in multidrug-resistant pathogens has led to the search for new antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides represent promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics due to their broad-spectrum activity, their potency at low concentrations, and their multifunctional mode of action that decreases the likelihood of resistance development. This research project aims to search for new candidate antimicrobial and antibiofilm peptide therapeutics by designing and screening small amphipathic cationic peptides and testing their efficacy against drug-resistant clinical isolates. Through this project, the student will learn new techniques relevant for peptide design and engineering (e.g., structure-activity relationship studies), massively parallel peptide synthesis through SPOT technology, and functional characterization of peptide activity (i.e., antimicrobial and antibiofilm assays). (AU)

Scientific publications

(11)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR; BROWN, PAUL; TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; CAO, JICONG; LU, TIMOTHY K.. Magnetic Surfactant Ionic Liquids and Polymers With Tetrahaloferrate (III) Anions as Antimicrobial Agents With Low Cytotoxicity. COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS, v. 22, p. 11-13, JAN 2018. (16/24413-0)

CAO, JICONG; DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR; OU, RUI WEN; TORRES, MARCELO DER TOROSSIAN; PANDE, SANTOSH G.; SINSKEY, ANTHONY J.; LU, TIMOTHY K.. Yeast-Based Synthetic Biology Platform for Antimicrobial Peptide Production. ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY, v. 7, n. 3, p. 896-902, MAR 2018. (16/24413-0)

CANDIDO, ELIZABETE S.; CARDOSO, MARLON H.; CHAN, LAI Y.; TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; OSHIRO, KAREN G. N.; PORTO, WILLIAM F.; RIBEIRO, SUZANA M.; HANEY, EVAN F.; HANCOCK, ROBERT E. W.; LU, TIMOTHY K.; et al. Short Cationic Peptide Derived from Archaea with Dual Antibacterial Properties and Anti-Infective Potential. ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES, v. 5, n. 7, p. 1081-1086, JUL 2019. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0)

OSHIRO, KAREN G. N.; CANDIDO, ELIZABETE S.; CHAN, LAI Y.; TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; MONGES, BRUNA E. D.; RODRIGUES, SILVIA G.; PORTO, WILLIAM F.; RIBEIRO, SUZANA M.; HENRIQUES, SONIA T.; LU, TIMOTHY K.; et al. Computer-Aided Design of Mastoparan-like Peptides Enables the Generation of Nontoxic Variants with Extended Antibacterial Properties. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, v. 62, n. 17, p. 8140-8151, SEP 12 2019. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0)

TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; SOTHISELVAM, SHANMUGAPRIYA; LU, TIMOTHY K.; DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR. Peptide Design Principles for Antimicrobial Applications. Journal of Molecular Biology, v. 431, n. 18, p. 21-pg., 2019-08-23. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0)

TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; SOTHISELVAM, SHANMUGAPRIYA; LU, TIMOTHY K.; DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR. Peptide Design Principles for Antimicrobial Applications. Journal of Molecular Biology, v. 431, n. 18, SI, p. 3547-3567, AUG 23 2019. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0)

BOASE, NATHAN R. B.; TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; FLETCHER, NICHOLAS L.; DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR; FAIRFULL-SMITH, KATHRYN E.. Polynitroxide copolymers to reduce biofilm fouling on surfaces. Polymer Chemistry, v. 9, n. 43, p. 5308-5318, NOV 21 2018. (16/24413-0)

PANE, KATIA; CAFARO, VALERIA; AVITABILE, ANGELA; TORRES, MARCELO DER TOROSSIAN; VOLLARO, ADRIANA; DE GREGORIO, ELIANA; CATANIA, MARIA ROSARIA; DI MARO, ANTIMO; BOSSO, ANDREA; GALLO, GIOVANNI; et al. Identification of Novel Cryptic Multifunctional Antimicrobial Peptides from the Human Stomach Enabled by a Computational-Experimental Platform. ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY, v. 7, n. 9, p. 2105-2115, SEP 2018. (16/24413-0)

FENSTERSEIFER, ISABEL C. M.; FELICIO, MARIO R.; ALVES, ELIANE S. F.; CARDOSO, MARLON H.; TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; MATOS, CAROLINA O.; SILVA, OSMAR N.; LU, TIMOTHY K.; FREIRE, V, MAURICIO; NEVES, NATAN C.; et al. Selective antibacterial activity of the cationic peptide PaDBS1R6 against Gram-negative bacteria. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES, v. 1861, n. 7, p. 1375-1387, JUL 1 2019. (16/24413-0)

TORRES, MARCELO D. T.; PEDRON, CIBELE N.; HIGASHIKUNI, YASUTOMI; KRAMER, ROBIN M.; CARDOSO, MARLON H.; OSHIRO, KAREN G. N.; FRANCO, OCTAVIO L.; SILVA JUNIOR, I, PEDRO; SILVA, FERNANDA D.; OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, VANI X.; et al. Structure-function-guided exploration of the antimicrobial peptide polybia-CP identifies activity determinants and generates synthetic therapeutic candidates. COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY, v. 1, 2018. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0, 14/12938-6)

CARDOSO, MARLON H.; CANDIDO, ELIZABETE S.; CHAN, LAI Y.; TORRES, MARCELO DER TOROSSIAN; OSHIRO, KAREN G. N.; REZENDE, SAMILLA B.; PORTO, WILLIAM F.; LU, TIMOTHY K.; DE LA FUENTE-NUNEZ, CESAR; CRAIK, DAVID J.; et al. A Computationally Designed Peptide Derived from Escherichia coli as a Potential Drug Template for Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Therapies. ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES, v. 4, n. 12, p. 1727-1736, DEC 2018. (14/04507-5, 16/24413-0)