title: Combinatorial synthesis and directed evolution applied to the production of alpha-helix forming antimicrobial peptides analogues.
abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effector molecules of innate immune systems found in different groups of organisms, including microorganisms, plants, insects, amphibians and humans. These peptides exhibit several structural motifs but the most abundant AMPs assume an amphipathic alpha-helical structure. The alpha-helix forming antimicrobial peptides are excellent candidates for protein engineering leading to an optimization of their biological activity and target specificity. Nowadays several approaches are available and this review deals with the use of combinatorial synthesis and directed evolution in order to provide a high-throughput source of antimicrobial peptides analogues with enhanced lytic activity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Brazilian Center for Protein Research, Department of Cell Biology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia/DF, Brazil. mscastro@unb.br
authors.forename: Mariana S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Eduardo M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Cilli
authors.forename: Wagner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fontes
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques; D019020:Directed Molecular Evolution; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010455:Peptides