P15.06 Molecular validation of putative antimicrobial peptides for improved human immunodeficiency virus diagnostics via hiv protein p24

Analytical Studies of Antimicrobial Peptides as Diagnostic Biomarkers for the Detection of Bacterial and Viral Pneumonia

Pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of infectious mortality and significant economic losses among our growing population. The lack of specific biomarkers for correct and timely diagnosis to detect patients’ status is a bane towards initiating a proper treatment plan for the disease; thus, current biomarkers cannot distinguish between pneumonia and other associated conditions such as atherosclerotic plaques and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potential candidates for detecting numerous illnesses due to their compensatory roles as theranostic molecules. This research sought to generate specific data for parental AMPs to identify viral and bacterial pneumonia pathogens using in silico technology. The parental antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) used in this work were AMPs discovered in our previous in silico analyses using the HMMER algorithm, which were used to generate derivative (mutated) AMPs that would bind with greater affinity, in order to detect the bacterial and viral receptors using an in silico site-directed mutagenesis approach. These AMPs’ 3D structures were subsequently predicted and docked against receptor proteins. The result shows putative AMPs with the potential capacity to detect pneumonia caused by these pathogens through their binding precision with high sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity for possible use in point-of-care diagnosis. These peptides’ tendency to detect receptor proteins of viral and bacterial pneumonia with precision justifies their use for differential diagnostics, in an attempt to reduce the problems of indiscriminate overuse, toxicity due to the wrong prescription, bacterial resistance, and the scarcity and high cost of existing pneumonia antibiotics.

Biomedical Relevance of Novel Anticancer Peptides in the Sensitive Treatment of Cancer

The global increase in cancer mortality and economic losses necessitates the cautious quest for therapeutic agents with compensatory advantages over conventional therapies. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are a subset of host defense peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, which have emerged as therapeutic and diagnostic candidates due to several compensatory advantages over the non-specificity of the current treatment regimens. This review aimed to highlight the ravaging incidence of cancer, the use of ACPs in cancer treatment with their mechanisms, ACP discovery and delivery methods, and the limitations for their use. This would create awareness for identifying more ACPs with better specificity, accuracy and sensitivity towards the disease. It would also promote their efficacious utilization in biotechnology, medical sciences and molecular biology to ease the severity of the disease and enable the patients living with these conditions to develop an accommodating lifestyle.

PR-1-Like Protein as a Potential Target for the Identification of Fusarium oxysporum: An In Silico Approach

Fusarium oxysporum remains one of the leading causes of economic losses and poor crop yields; its detection is strained due to its presentation in various morphological and physiological forms. This research work sought to identify novel biomarkers for the detection of Fusarium oxysporum using in silico approaches. Experimentally validated anti-Fusarium oxysporum antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were used to construct a profile against Fusarium oxysporum. The performance and physicochemical parameters of these peptides were predicted. The gene for the Fusarium oxysporum receptor protein PR-1-like Protein, Fpr1, was identified and translated. The resulting protein model from the translation was then validated. The anti-Fusarium oxysporum AMPs and Fusarium oxysporum receptor protein 3-D structures were characterized, and their docking interaction analyses were carried out. The HMMER in silico tool identified novel anti-Fusarium oxysporum antimicrobial peptides with good performance in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. These AMPs also displayed good physicochemical properties and bound with greater affinity to Fusarium oxysporum protein receptor PR-1-like Protein. The tendency of these AMPs to precisely detect Fusarium oxysporum PR-1-like Protein, Fpr1, would justify their use for the identification of the fungus. This study would enhance and facilitate the identification of Fusarium oxysporum to reduce problems associated with poor crop yield, economic losses, and decreased nutritional values of plants to keep up with the growing population.