Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research

Karen W. Buckheit

Publications

• Research Article
  De Novo Design of Antiviral and Antibacterial Peptides with Varying Loop Structures
  Author(s): Guangshun Wang, Karen W. Buckheit, Biswajit Mishra, Tamara Lushnikova and Robert W. Buckheit Jr.Guangshun Wang, Karen W. Buckheit, Biswajit Mishra, Tamara Lushnikova and Robert W. Buckheit Jr.
  
  Although the rate of new HIV infections has been declining, AIDS continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The lack of an effective HIV vaccine makes it necessary to develop alternative strategies, such as the development of topical microbicides, to prevent transmission. Antimicrobial peptides represent promising microbicide candidates. Previously, we succeeded in enhancing the anti-HIV activities of several peptides that form helical structures based on the bioinformatic results learned from the antimicrobial peptide database. This study showed that Lys-to-Arg alterations also improved the HIV inhibitory activity of thanatin which is known to form a β-hairpin structure. Using a previously reported de novo designed HIV inhibitory peptide GLR-19 as the starting template, loop structures of varying sizes were generated by restraining a disulfide bond at differen.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2155-6113.S2-003

  Abstract PDF