Recent studies have shown that antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can
self-assemble into supramolecular structures, but this has been overlooked as
causative of their antimicrobial activity. Also, the higher antimicrobial
potency of D-enantiomers compared to L-enantiomers of AMPs cannot always be
attributed to their different resistance to protease degradation. Here, we
tested all L- and D-amino acid versions of GL13K, an AMP derived from a human
protein, to study structural links between AMPs secondary structure,
supramolecular self-assembly dynamics, and antimicrobial activity. pH dependence
and the evolution of secondary structures were related to a self-assembling
process with differences among these AMPs. The two GL13K enantiomers formed
analogous self-assembled twisted nanoribbon structures, but D-GL13K initiated
self-assembly faster and had notably higher antimicrobial potency than L-GL13K.
A non-antimicrobial scrambled amino acid version of LGL13K assembled at a much
higher pH to form distinctively different self-assembled structures than
L-GL13K. Our results support a functional relationship between the AMPs
self-assembly and their antimicrobial activity.
Elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), which derive from one of the repetitive domains found in natural elastin, have been intensively studied in the last few years from several points of view. In this mini review, we discuss all the recent works related to the investigation of ELRs, starting with those that define these polypeptides as model intrinsically disordered proteins or regions (IDPs or IDRs) and its relevance for some biomedical applications. Furthermore, we summarize the current knowledge on the development of drug, vaccine and gene delivery systems based on ELRs, while also emphasizing the multiple tissue engineering approaches involving their use. Finally, we show different studies that explore applications in other fields, and several examples that 2 describe biomaterial blends in which ELRs have a key role. This review aims to give an overview of the recent advances regarding ELRs and to encourage further investigation of their properties and applications.
Protein-engineered polymers can be used as multivalent platforms for AMP tethering on implant surfaces as cytocompatible coatings with strong antibiofilm properties.
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