assessing-putative-anticryptococcal-properties-crude-clarified

Assessing the Putative Anticryptococcal Properties of Crude and Clarified Extracts from Mollusks

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated human fungal pathogen with a global distribution that primarily infects immunocompromised individuals. The ...

University of Guelph

Proteases are involved in a broad range of physiological processes, including host invasion by fungal pathogens, and enzymatic inhibition is a key molecular mechanism controlling proteolytic activity. Importantly, inhibitors from natural or synthetic sources have demonstrated applications in biochemistry, biotechnology, and biomedicine. However, the need to discover new reservoirs of these inhibitory molecules with improved efficacy and target range has been underscored by recent protease characterization related to infection and antimicrobial resistance. In this regard, naturally-sourced inhibitors show promise for application in diverse biological systems due to high stability at physiological conditions and low cytotoxicity. Moreover, natural sources (e.g., plants, invertebrates, and microbes) provide a large reservoir of undiscovered and/or uncharacterized bioactive molecules involved in host defense against predators and pathogens. In this Review, we highlight discoveries of protease inhibitors from environmental sources, propose new opportunities for assessment of antifungal activity, and discuss novel applications to combat biomedically-relevant fungal diseases with in vivo and clinical purpose.

From Naturally-Sourced Protease Inhibitors to New Treatments for Fungal Infections.

Molecular pharming relies on the integration of foreign genes into a plant system for production of the desired recombinant protein. The speed, scalability, and lack of contaminating human pathogens highlights plants as an enticing and feasible system to produce diverse protein-based products, including vaccines, antibodies, and enzymes. However, limitations of expression levels, host defense responses, and production irregularities underscore distinct areas for improvement within the molecular pharming pipeline. Within the past five years, mass spectrometry-based proteomics has begun to address these critical areas and show promise in advancing our understanding of the complex biological systems driving molecular pharming. Further, opportunities to leverage comprehensive proteome profiling have surfaced to meet good manufacturing practice regulations and move biopharmaceuticals derived from plants into mainstream production.

Davier Gutierrez-Gongora

Molecular and Cellular Biology Department

University of Guelph

Assessing the Putative Anticryptococcal Properties of Crude and Clarified Extracts from Mollusks

Davier Gutierrez-Gongora

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Molecular and Cellular Biology Department

University of Guelph

Assessing the Putative Anticryptococcal Properties of Crude and Clarified Extracts from Mollusks

Molecular and Cellular Biology Department