Full Description
The action of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), ranging from direct killing of invading pathogens to immune response modulation and other complex biological responses, has stimulated research and clinical interest for more than two decades, but the area is still burgeoning due to emerging discoveries in the functions, roles, and regulation of AMPs, thus making the study of antimicrobial peptides a multi-disciplinary and rapidly evolving field. In Antimicrobial Peptides: Methods and Protocols, leading investigators present a broad, up-to-date collection of current research and experimental methods for the isolation, characterization, production, and optimization of antimicrobial peptides. Additional chapters detail methodologies in several microscopy techniques, high-throughput screening, QSAR modeling, and computer-aided design used to study these compounds, while key review articles survey potential medical applications of antimicrobial peptides as innovative anti-infective and immunomodulatory agents, as well as emerging discoveries in their function, regulation, and roles in innate immunity. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and wide-ranging in its applications, Antimicrobial Peptides: Methods and Protocols provides both an authoritative guide for lab work on AMPs or related substances and a useful collection of thought stimuli to inspire further scientific endeavours in a wide array of vital fields.
Contents
Isolation, Purification, Design, and Synthesis of Antimicrobial Peptides.- Antimicrobial Peptides in Frog Skin Secretions.- Purification of Antimicrobial Peptides from Human Skin.- Strategies for the Isolation and Characterization of Antibacterial Lantibiotics.- Expression and Purification of Recombinant ?-Defensins and ?-Defensin Precursors in Escherichia coli.- Production of Recombinant Antimicrobial Peptides in Bacteria.- Methods for Building Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) Descriptors and Predictive Models for Computer-Aided Design of Antimicrobial Peptides.- Synthesis and Thermodynamic Characterization of Small Cyclic Antimicrobial Arginine and Tryptophan-Rich Peptides with Selectivity for Gram-Negative Bacteria.- Synthesis of Antimicrobial Peptides Using the SPOT Technique.- High-Throughput Screening for Antimicrobial Peptides Using the SPOT Technique.- Analysis, Properties, and Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Peptides.- Antimicrobial Peptides: The LPS Connection.- Binding and Permeabilization of Model Membranes by Amphipathic Peptides.- Comparing Bacterial Membrane Interactions of Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Mimics.- Dynamic Transitions of Membrane-Active Peptides.- Solid-State NMR Investigations of Membrane-Associated Antimicrobial Peptides.- Use of Atomic Force Microscopy as a Tool to Understand the Action of Antimicrobial Peptides on Bacteria.- Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy Methods for Exploring Antimicrobial Peptides Mode(s) of Action.- Molecular Simulations of Antimicrobial Peptides.- Computer-Based Analysis, Visualization, and Interpretation of Antimicrobial Peptide Activities.- Antimicrobial Peptides as Therapeutic Agents.- Potential Therapeutic Application of Host Defense Peptides.- Therapeutic Potential of HDPs asImmunomodulatory Agents.- Assay Systems for Measurement of Anti-inflammatory Activity.- Ex Vivo Skin Infection Model.- Measuring Antimicrobial Peptide Activity on Epithelial Surfaces in Cell Culture.- Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of Quorum Sensing Peptides and Peptide Analogues Against Oral Biofilm Bacteria.- Characterization of the Leishmanicidal Activity of Antimicrobial Peptides.
