Glycoreplica peptides to investigate molecular mechanisms of immune-mediated physiological versus pathological conditions.
Arch Biochem Biophys 2019;
663:44-53. [PMID:
30594643 DOI:
10.1016/j.abb.2018.12.030]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Investigation of the role of saccharides and glycoconjugates in mechanisms of immune-mediated physiological and pathological conditions is a hot topic. In fact, in many autoimmune diseases cross-reactivity between sugar moieties exposed on exogenous pathogens and self-molecules has long been hinted. Several peptides have been reported as mimetics of glycans specifically interacting with sugar-binding antibodies. The seek for these glycoreplica peptides is instrumental in characterizing antigen mimicry pathways and their involvement in triggering autoimmunity. Therefore, peptides mimicking glycan-protein interactions are valuable molecular tools to overcome the difficulties of oligosaccharide preparations. The clinical impact of peptide-based probes for autoimmune diseases diagnosis and follow-up is emerging only recently as just the tip of the iceberg of an overlooked potential. Here we provide a brief overview of the relevance of the structural and functional aspects of peptide probes and their mimicry effect in autoimmunity mechanisms for promising applications in diagnostics and therapeutics.
Collapse