by Jared Rutecki

In research, success can be had by thinking big. In the case of antimicrobial peptide research, thinking small is the way.

Almost all organisms create small proteins called peptides that act as a natural antimicrobial defense. Peptides can kill bacteria by binding to the cells and poking holes in their membranes. Through careful selection and structural design, research aims to develop new peptides that have the most potential for fighting infection along with low toxicity for human cells.

Jack Blazyk, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and associate dean for research and grants, is the principal investigator of an OU-COM research project focusing on peptides, and his work with the tiny defense-minded proteins has generated a $220,500 research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Animals and humans produce a wide variety of these defensive molecules. “We have been looking at these peptides and are figuring out the precise mechanism by which they work,” Blazyk says.

Blazyk’s research on peptides at OU-COM began in 1990, but the latest grant, awarded in August, was a renewal of an NIH grant that began in 2000. The original research stemmed from collaborative work done with Magainin Pharmaceuticals. The aim of his current research is to identify small and selective antimicrobial peptides that will generate leads for clinical testing.

Resistance to antibiotics has made peptides a research necessity. “If we present a threat to bacteria, they can mutate and change themselves to survive,” Blazyk says. “They are able to change their cell wall to resist penicillin or other antibiotics.”

Diseases caused by resistant organisms pose a threat now and likely even moreso in the future. “That’s why this research is so important.”

Peptides could provide a way to fight diseases that resist antibiotics.

The project also involves Bonita Biegalke, Ph.D., associate professor of virology, whose expertise involves testing the peptides for antiviral activity. Another research partner is Mibel Aguilar, Ph.D., associate professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, who has specialized equipment that will be used in the research project.

Aguilar’s collaboration in the project grew out of their meeting at peptide research conference.

Part of their study involves the response of viruses such as herpes simplex and influenza to antimicrobial peptides. Tests also are being run to see how the peptides interact with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus bacteria, which are a common cause of infection in humans. Since peptides can be individually tailored through amino acid selection, the potential is there to create peptides that fight a number of different organisms that cause infections.

Graduates and undergraduates from Ohio University and other American colleges, along with exchange students from the University of Leipzig in Germany, have participated in this research project. The NIH grant is part of the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program. AREA grants give undergraduate students opportunities to experience research.