Structure and activity determination of membrane-active peptides

膜活性肽，如抗微生物肽和淀粉样蛋白（Ab）肽，在疾病中发挥重要作用。随着抗生素耐药性的增长和阿尔茨海默病的增加，这是抗体斑块的缩影，需要新的药物。虽然Ab在神经元细胞培养物中是有毒的，并且破坏细胞膜，但其机制尚不清楚。靶向细菌膜的抗菌肽已经进化为抵抗感染的防御机制，并且由于膜几乎没有遗传适应性，因此可能是候选药物。将开发模型膜以阐明作用机制和决定抗微生物肽和全长Ab肽对膜脂质的亲和力的关键分子特征。

Membrane-active peptides, such as antimicrobial and amyloid (Ab) peptides, play an important role in disease. With the growth of antibiotic resistance and increase in Alzheimer’s disease, which is epitomised by plaques of Ab, new drugs are required. Although Ab is toxic in neuronal cell cultures and disrupts cell membranes, the mechanism is unknown. Antimicrobial peptides that target bacterial membranes have evolved as a defence mechanism against infection and, since membranes show little genetic adaptation, could be drug candidates. Model membranes will be developed to elucidate the mechanism of action and key molecular features that determine affinity for membrane lipids of an antimicrobial peptide and full length Ab peptides.