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.
- 30 -
News for
the week of
Sept 25 – Sept 30
