We have recently reported on dodecamer peptides (HPPMDFHKAMTR, CHPQPLKSRNPL) which recognize 52-58th and 197-203rd amino acid sequences of glucose oxidase (GOx) by screening via a phage random peptide library. In this study, a side-chain protected peptide monomer (PPM) was synthesized using two peptides (HPPMDFHKAMTR, SHPQPLKSRNPL) and acryloyl chloride. The peptide-conjugated polymer (PCP) was...

There is much current interest in developing fragment-based strategies for targeting protein surfaces and active sites.1 Toward this goal, we describe a new fragment-based bivalent ligand selection methodology that allows for the discovery of protein surface-targeted cyclic peptides that are steered by an active site binding small-molecule ligand (Figure 1). This approach allows for coupling hi...

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been implicated in tumor growth via interactions with its receptors (FGFRs) on the cell surface and therefore, bFGF/FGFRs are considered essential targets for cancer therapy. Herein, a consensus heptapeptide (LSPPRYP) was identified for the first time from a phage display heptapeptide library after three sequential rounds of biopanning against FGFR-expr...

Peptide ligands for the carbohydrate-binding protein concanavalin A (Con A) have been identified by screening a large, diverse peptide library expressed on the surface of filamentous phage. A dodecapeptide containing the consensus sequence Tyr-Pro-Tyr was found to bind Con A with an affinity (dissociation constant, Kd) of 46 microM, comparable to that of a known carbohydrate ligand, methyl alph...

Amphiphilic macromolecules containing a polystyrene-adherent peptide domain and a cell-repellent poly(ethylene glycol) domain were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as a cytophobic surface coating. Such cytophobic, or cell-repellent, coatings are of interest for varied medical and biotechnological applications. The composition of the polystyrene binding peptide domain was identified using an...

Invasive aspergillosis is a leading cause of infectious death in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we adapted a phage display library-based selection to screen and identify binding peptides to the surface of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia and hyphae. We identified a peptide (sequence CGGRLGPFC) that reliably binds to the surface of Aspergillus fumigatus hyphae. Binding was not Aspergillus strain ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) presents a significant obstacle to delivery of targeted therapies to brain tumors. In this issue of the JCI, Staquicini and colleagues apply an in vivo phage-displayed library of random peptides to identify differentially expressed peptides that can be used to transport targeted agents across the intact BBB. The authors uncover a non-canonical, peptide-mediated iro...

Phage display libraries are widely used as tools for identifying, dissecting and optimizing ligands. Development of a simple method to access greater library diversities could expedite and expand the technique. This paper reports progress toward harnessing the naturally occurring diversity generating retroelement used by Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteriophage to alter its tail-fiber protein. M...

Aberrant glycosylation is a universal feature of cancer cells. There are quantitative and qualitative changes in expression of gangliosides observed in tumors of a neuroectodermal origin such as neuroblastoma, melanoma and astrocytoma. The presence of large amounts of GD2 ganglioside on neuroblastoma cells, as compared to normal cells, opens the possibilities to use the tumor-associated carbohy...

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer among Chinese living in southern China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The 5-year survival rate in the early stage of NPC has been reported as high as 90 to 95% with the use of radiotherapy, but in the advanced cases, even with the use of both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the survival rate is still <50%. To improve the survival rate, we identify a 12-...