Antimicrobial Peptides: Discovery, Design and Novel Therapeutic Strategies(Advances in Molecular and Cellular Microbiology)

Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) are an organism's built-in defence molecules that have attracted extensive research attention worldwide. Harnessing and creating them synthetically has the potential to help overcome increasing antibiotic resistance in many pathogens. In addition to covering the current advances in AMP research, this volume examines new technologies such as bioinformatics, combinatorial libraries, high-throughput screening, peptidomimetics, biophysics, and structural biology. This volume also describes new methods and strategies for AMP prediction, design, and applications that overcome obstacles in developing them into therapeutic agents.

Table of Contents:
A: Preface B: Introduction Part I: Natural Antimicrobial Peptides: Nomenclature, Classification, and Interesting Templates for Peptide Engineering 1: A Database View of Naturally Occurring Antimicrobial Peptides: Nomenclature, Classification and Amino Acid Sequence Analysis 2: Lantibiotic-related Research and the Application thereof 3: Antimicrobial Peptides in Plants Part II: Expanding the Peptide Space: Prediction Methods, Design Strategies, and Peptidomimetics 4: Database-aided Prediction and Design of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides 5: Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides Using Combinatorial Chemistry and High-Throughput Screening 6: Chemical Mimics with Systemic Efficacy Part III: Biophysics, Structural Biology and Mechanism of Action of Antimicrobial Peptides 7: Biophysical Analysis of Membrane-Targeting Antimicrobial Peptides: Membrane Properties and the Design of Peptides Specifically Targeting Gram-negative Bacteria 8: Non-membrane Targets of Antimicrobial Peptides: Novel Therapeutic Opportunities? 9: Structural Studies of Antimicrobial Peptides Provide Insight into Their Mechanisms of Action Part IV: Novel Therapeutic Strategies to Bolster Host Defence 10: Lung Infection: Shifting the Equilibrium toward the Free and Active Form of Human LL-37 and the Design of Alternative Antimicrobial Agents 11: Role of Vitamin D in the Enhancement of Antimicrobial Peptide Gene Expression 12: Fine Tuning Host Responses in the Face of Infection: Emerging Roles and Clinical Applications of Host Defence Peptides

About the Author :
- Dr. Guangshun Wang is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, USA. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry from Simon Fraser University, Canada in 1997. During his postdoctoral stints at the Florida State University and at the National Institutes of Health (USA), he studied 3D structures of bacterial signal-transducing protein-protein complexes by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. His current research interests at UNMC include structural, bioinformatic, and functional studies of host defense antimicrobial peptides and their potential applications that benefit human beings and agriculture, including both plants and animals. For this purpose, his laboratory created in 2003, and has been maintaining, the Antimicrobial Peptide Database (http://aps.unmc.edu/AP), a widely utilized tool for research and education in the field. Dr. Wang has edited three books, obtained four patents and published 90 original papers, review articles, and book chapters. Currently, he also serves as an Associate Editor for Current Organic Chemistry and an editorial board member of Pharmaceuticals.