Torres Marcelo D T, Cesaro Angela, de la Fuente-Nunez Cesar
Machine Biology Group, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Machine Biology Group, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Trends Biotechnol. 2025 Jan;43(1):184-205. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.09.008. Epub 2024 Oct 28.
Encrypted peptides (EPs) have been recently described as a new class of antimicrobial molecules. They have been found in numerous organisms and have been proposed to have a role in host immunity and as alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Intriguingly, many of these EPs are found embedded in proteins unrelated to the immune system, suggesting that immunological responses extend beyond traditional host immunity proteins. To test this idea, we synthesized and analyzed representative peptides derived from non-immune human proteins for their ability to exert antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. Most of the tested peptides from non-immune proteins, derived from structural proteins as well as proteins from the nervous and visual systems, displayed potent in vitro antimicrobial activity. These molecules killed bacterial pathogens by targeting their membrane, and those originating from the same region of the body exhibited synergistic effects when combined. Beyond their antimicrobial properties, nearly 90% of the peptides tested exhibited immunomodulatory effects, modulating inflammatory mediators, such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Moreover, eight of the peptides identified, collagenin-3 and 4, zipperin-1 and 2, and immunosin-2, 3, 12, and 13, displayed anti-infective efficacy in two different preclinical mouse models, reducing bacterial infections by up to four orders of magnitude. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that peptides from non-immune proteins may have a role in host immunity. These results potentially expand our notion of the immune system to include previously unrecognized proteins and peptides that may be activated upon infection to confer protection to the host.
加密肽(EPs)最近被描述为一类新型抗菌分子。它们在许多生物体中都有发现,并被认为在宿主免疫中发挥作用,可作为传统抗生素的替代品。有趣的是,许多这类EPs被发现嵌入与免疫系统无关的蛋白质中,这表明免疫反应超出了传统的宿主免疫蛋白范围。为了验证这一想法,我们合成并分析了源自非免疫人类蛋白质的代表性肽,以研究它们发挥抗菌和免疫调节特性的能力。大多数来自非免疫蛋白质的测试肽,包括源自结构蛋白以及神经和视觉系统蛋白的肽,都表现出强大的体外抗菌活性。这些分子通过靶向细菌膜来杀死细菌病原体,并且源自身体同一区域的肽在组合时表现出协同作用。除了抗菌特性外,近90%的测试肽还表现出免疫调节作用,可调节炎症介质,如白细胞介素(IL)-6、肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)-α和单核细胞趋化蛋白-1(MCP-1)。此外,鉴定出的8种肽,即胶原蛋白-3和4、拉链蛋白-1和2以及免疫球蛋白-2、3、12和13,在两种不同的临床前小鼠模型中显示出抗感染功效,可将细菌感染减少多达四个数量级。总之,我们的结果支持这样一种假设,即来自非免疫蛋白质的肽可能在宿主免疫中发挥作用。这些结果可能会扩展我们对免疫系统的认识,将以前未被认识的蛋白质和肽包括在内,这些蛋白质和肽可能在感染时被激活以保护宿主。
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