MODULATION OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY: SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF SOCIAL WASP PEPTIDES, POLYBIA-MPII AND POLYBIA-MPI, ON MIMETIC MEMBRANES

• Grant number: 24/10009-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Dayane dos Santos Alvares
• Grantee: Larissa Villas Boas Ciorlin
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/07231-7 - Plasticity and functional modulation of intrinsically disordered proteins, AP.TEM

Abstract

The increase in cases of fungal infections, particularly those caused by multidrug-resistant fungi, necessitates the development of new antifungal agents. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown great promise in this context due to their ability to combat microorganisms resistant to traditional antibiotics. Polybia-MPII (MP2) and Polybia-MPI (MP1), peptides isolated from the venom of social wasps of the genus Polybia, exhibit significant antifungal activity and have been the focus of studies aimed at developing new therapies. This project aims to investigate the synergistic effect of combining MP2 and MP1 on fungal mimetic membranes. The peptide conformation will be analyzed using circular dichroism (CD), the partition constant will be determined by fluorimetric titrations, the electrostatic contribution will be assessed by zeta potential measurements, and the lytic activity will be evaluated using giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Initially, the equimolar mixture of the peptides will be analyzed. The results obtained may contribute to the development of new antifungal agents that are more effective and less toxic.