Antimicrobial peptides and methods for identifying and using such peptides
AssigneeFundacao de Ampara a Pesquiso do Estado de Sao Paolo (FAPESP)
InventorsAdilson Leite, Urara Kawazoe, Paulo Arruda, Arnaldo da Silva Junior
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method for identifying peptides having antimicrobial activity and to the antimicrobial peptides identified thereby and methods for their use.
Claims29
A method for identifying an antimicrobial peptide comprising
- (a) contacting an infective stage microorganism with a plurality of peptides,
- (b) identifying peptides that bind to the microorganism, and
- 3. assaying the peptides for capacity to damage the microorganism, wherein damage to said microorganism is indicative of an antimicrobial peptide.
An isolated antimicrobial peptide consisting of from 10 to about 50 amino acids, wherein said peptide comprises 10 to about 12 contiguous amino acids of which 7 out of the 10 to about 12 amino acids are hydrophobic residues, 3 of the 10 to about 12 contiguous amino acids are basic residues and at least one of the 10 to about 12 amino acid is histidine (His), glutamic acid (Glu) or serine (Ser), with the proviso that two of the hydrophobic amino acids are adjacent tryptophans (Trp).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.