Hitchhiking with nature: exploring snake venom peptides to fight cancer and superbugs
- Autores: Clara Pérez Peinado
- Directores de la Tesis: David Andreu Martínez (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Pompeu Fabra ( España ) en 2020
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Paola Gomes (presid.), Elena Hidalgo Hernando (secret.), Juana Díez Antón (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Biomedicina por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra
- Materias:
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- Resumen
This work focuses on the discovery and optimization of efficient, selective, cost-effective and proteolytic-resistant antimicrobial and antitumoral peptides.
To this end, we first identified novel cathelicidin-related peptides from the venom gland of South American pit vipers, collectively named vipericidins. In particular crotalicidin (Ctn), a 34-mer helical peptide from the Crotalus durissus terrificus venom, highlighted due to its promising antimicrobial and antitumoral properties. Its fragment Ctn[15-34] also stood out due to its overall preserved activity, improved selectivity, serum stability and significant size reduction.
Their mechanisms of action were stepwise characterized against Escherichia coli and a leukemic cell line. The unusually high lifespan of Ctn[15-34] in serum was also investigated to ascertain its structural determinants and molecular interaction with serum proteins.
Altogether, this thesis proposes two novel bioactive peptides as potential drug candidates to fight bacterial infections and cancer, particularly leukemia. Beyond specific results, this thesis provides a set of valuable methodologies to discover, optimize and evaluate bioactive molecules from natural sources.
