RESUMO
Cyclisation of peptides by forming thioether (lanthionine), disulfide (cystine) or methylene thioacetal bridges between side chains is established as an important tool to stabilise a given structure, enhance metabolic stability and optimise both potency and selectivity. However, a systematic comparative study of the effects of differing bridging modalities on peptide conformation has not previously been carried out. In this paper, we have used the NMR deconvolution algorithm, NAMFIS, to determine the conformational ensembles, in aqueous solution, of three cyclic analogues of angiotensin(1-7), incorporating either disulfide, or non-reducible thioether or methylene thioacetal bridges. We demonstrate that the major solution conformations are conserved between the different bridged peptides, but the distribution of conformations differs appreciably. This suggests that subtle differences in ring size and bridging structure can be exploited to fine-tune the conformational properties of cyclic peptides, which may modulate their bioactivities.
RESUMO
Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPN), formulated from organic semiconducting polymers and lipids, show promise as exogenous contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging (PAI). To fully realise the potential of this class of nanoparticles for imaging and therapeutic applications, a broad range of active targeting strategies, where ligands specific to receptors on the target cells are displayed on the SPN surface, are urgently needed. In addition, effective strategies for quantifying the level of surface modification are also needed to support development of ligand-targeted SPN. In this paper, we have developed methods to prepare SPN bearing peptides targeted to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors (EGFR), which are overexpressed at the surface of a wide variety of cancer cell types. In addition to fully characterising these targeted nanoparticles by standard methods (UV-visible, photoacoustic absorption, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and SEM), we have developed a powerful new NMR method to determine the degree of conjugation and the number of targeting peptides attached to the SPN. Preliminary in vitro experiments with the colorectal cancer cell line LIM1215 indicated that the EGFR-targeting peptide conjugated SPN were either ineffective in delivering the SPN to the cells, or that the targeting peptide itself destabilised the formulation. This in reinforces the need for effective characterisation techniques to measure the surface accessibility of targeting ligands attached to nanoparticles.
Assuntos
Nanopartículas , Técnicas Fotoacústicas , Polímeros/química , Receptores ErbB , Técnicas Fotoacústicas/métodos , Ligantes , Nanopartículas/químicaRESUMO
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections have been implicated in the development of gastric ulcers and various cancers: however, the success of current therapies is compromised by rising antibiotic resistance. The virulence and pathogenicity of H. pylori is mediated by the type IV secretion system (T4SS), a multiprotein macromolecular nanomachine that transfers toxic bacterial factors and plasmid DNA between bacterial cells, thus contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance. A key component of the T4SS is the VirB11 ATPase HP0525, which is a hexameric protein assembly. We have previously reported the design and synthesis of a series of novel 8-amino imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives as inhibitors of HP0525. In order to improve their selectivity, and potentially develop these compounds as tools for probing the assembly of the HP0525 hexamer, we have explored the design and synthesis of potential bivalent inhibitors. We used the structural details of the subunit-subunit interactions within the HP0525 hexamer to design peptide recognition moieties of the subunit interface. Different methods (cross metathesis, click chemistry, and cysteine-malemide) for bioconjugation to selected 8-amino imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines were explored, as well as peptides spanning larger or smaller regions of the interface. The IC50 values of the resulting linker-8-amino imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives, and the bivalent inhibitors, were related to docking studies with the HP0525 crystal structure and to molecular dynamics simulations of the peptide recognition moieties.
Assuntos
Adenosina Trifosfatases , Helicobacter pylori , Proteínas de Bactérias , Peptídeos/farmacologia , PirazinasRESUMO
Coenzyme A (CoA) is a highly selective inhibitor of the mitotic regulatory enzyme Aurora A kinase, with a novel mode of action. Herein we report the design and synthesis of analogues of CoA as inhibitors of Aurora A kinase. We have designed and synthesised modified CoA structures as potential inhibitors, combining dicarbonyl mimics of the pyrophosphate group with a conserved adenosine headgroup and different length pantetheine-based tail groups. An analogue with a -SH group at the end of the pantotheinate tail showed the best IC50, probably due to the formation of a covalent bond with Aurora A kinase Cys290.
Assuntos
Aurora Quinase A/antagonistas & inibidores , Coenzima A/farmacologia , Difosfatos/farmacologia , Desenho de Fármacos , Panteteína/farmacologia , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Aurora Quinase A/metabolismo , Coenzima A/síntese química , Coenzima A/química , Difosfatos/química , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Humanos , Modelos Moleculares , Estrutura Molecular , Panteteína/química , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/síntese química , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/química , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
Natural products that target lipid II, such as the lantibiotic nisin, are strategically important in the development of new antibacterial agents to combat the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Understanding the structural factors that govern the highly selective molecular recognition of lipid II by the N-terminal region of nisin, nisin(1-12), is a crucial step in exploiting the potential of such compounds. In order to elucidate the relationships between amino acid sequence and conformation of this bicyclic peptide fragment, we have used solid-phase peptide synthesis to prepare two novel analogues of nisin(1-12) in which the dehydro residues have been replaced. We have carried out an NMR ensemble analysis of one of these analogues and of the wild-type nisin(1-12) peptide in order to compare the conformations of these two bicyclic peptides. Our analysis has shown the effects of residue mutation on ring conformation. We have also demonstrated that the individual rings of nisin(1-12) are pre-organised to an extent for binding to the pyrophosphate group of lipid II, with a high degree of flexibility exhibited in the central amide bond joining the two rings.
Assuntos
Nisina/análogos & derivados , Peptídeos/síntese química , Uridina Difosfato Ácido N-Acetilmurâmico/análogos & derivados , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Ligação de Hidrogênio , Nisina/metabolismo , Ressonância Magnética Nuclear Biomolecular , Peptídeos/química , Peptídeos/metabolismo , Conformação Proteica , Uridina Difosfato Ácido N-Acetilmurâmico/química , Uridina Difosfato Ácido N-Acetilmurâmico/metabolismoRESUMO
In response to the growing threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, extensive research is currently focused on developing antimicrobial agents that target lipid II, a vital precursor in the biosynthesis of bacterial cell walls. The lantibiotic nisin and related peptides display unique and highly selective binding to lipid II. A key feature of the nisin-lipid II interaction is the formation of a cage-like complex between the pyrophosphate moiety of lipid II and the two thioether-bridged rings, rings A and B, at the N-terminus of nisin. To understand the important structural factors underlying this highly selective molecular recognition, we have used solid-phase peptide synthesis to prepare individual ring A and B structures from nisin, the related lantibiotic mutacin, and synthetic analogues. Through NMR studies of these rings, we have demonstrated that ring A is preorganized to adopt the correct conformation for binding lipid II in solution and that individual amino acid substitutions in ring A have little effect on the conformation. We have also analyzed the turn structures adopted by these thioether-bridged peptides and show that they do not adopt the tight α-turn or ß-turn structures typically found in proteins.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/síntese química , Bacteriocinas/síntese química , Nisina/química , Técnicas de Síntese em Fase Sólida/métodos , Uridina Difosfato Ácido N-Acetilmurâmico/análogos & derivados , Antibacterianos/química , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Bacteriocinas/química , Bacteriocinas/farmacologia , Nisina/análogos & derivados , Ligação Proteica , Conformação Proteica , Uridina Difosfato Ácido N-Acetilmurâmico/metabolismoRESUMO
The formation of a novel trichain (TC) lipid was discovered when a cationic lipid possessing a terminal hydroxyl group and the helper lipid dioleoyl l-α-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) were formulated as vesicles and stored. Importantly, the transfection efficacies of lipopolyplexes comprised of the TC lipid, a targeting peptide and DNA (LPDs) were found to be higher than when the corresponding dichain (DC) lipid was used. To explore this interesting discovery and determine if this concept can be more generally applied to improve gene delivery efficiencies, the design and synthesis of a series of novel TC cationic lipids and the corresponding DC lipids was undertaken. Transfection efficacies of the LPDs were found to be higher when using the TC lipids compared to the DC analogues, so experiments were carried out to investigate the reasons for this enhancement. Sizing experiments and transmission electron microscopy indicated that there were no major differences in the size and shape of the LPDs prepared using the TC and DC lipids, while circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that the presence of the third acyl chain did not influence the conformation of the DNA within the LPD. In contrast, small angle neutron scattering studies showed a considerable re-arrangement of lipid conformation upon formulation as LPDs, particularly of the TC lipids, while gel electrophoresis studies revealed that the use of a TC lipid in the LPD formulation resulted in enhanced DNA protection properties. Thus, the major enhancement in transfection performance of these novel TC lipids can be attributed to their ability to protect and subsequently release DNA. Importantly, the TC lipids described here highlight a valuable structural template for the generation of gene delivery vectors, based on the use of lipids with three hydrophobic chains.
Assuntos
Descoberta de Drogas , Técnicas de Transferência de Genes , Lipídeos/química , Dicroísmo Circular , Lipídeos/síntese química , Lipossomos/química , Estrutura Molecular , Tamanho da Partícula , Propriedades de SuperfícieRESUMO
New designs of antimicrobial peptides are urgently needed in order to combat the threat posed by the recent increase of resistance to antibiotics. In this paper, we present a new series of antimicrobial peptides, based on the key structural features of the lantibiotic nisin. We have simplified the structure of nisin by conjugating the lipid II-binding motif at the N-terminus of nisin to a series of cationic peptides and peptoids with known antibacterial action and pore-forming properties. Hybrid peptides, where a hydrophilic PEG4 linker was used, showed good antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/farmacologia , Nisina/análogos & derivados , Nisina/farmacologia , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/farmacologia , Peptoides/farmacologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Antibacterianos/síntese química , Antibacterianos/química , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/síntese química , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/química , Bacillus subtilis/efeitos dos fármacos , Escherichia coli/efeitos dos fármacos , Micrococcus luteus/efeitos dos fármacos , Nisina/síntese química , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/síntese química , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/química , Peptoides/síntese química , Peptoides/química , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
The design, synthesis and formulation of non-viral gene delivery vectors is an area of renewed research interest. Amongst the most efficient non-viral gene delivery systems are lipopolyplexes, in which cationic peptides are co-formulated with plasmid DNA and lipids. One advantage of lipopolyplex vectors is that they have the potential to be targeted to specific cell types by attaching peptide targeting ligands on the surface, thus increasing both the transfection efficiency and selectivity for disease targets such as cancer cells. In this paper, we have investigated two different modes of displaying cell-specific peptide targeting ligands at the surface of lipopolyplexes. Lipopolyplexes formulated with bimodal peptides, with both receptor binding and DNA condensing sequences, were compared with lipopolyplexes with the peptide targeting ligand directly conjugated to one of the lipids. Three EGFR targeting peptide sequences were studied, together with a range of lipid formulations and maleimide lipid structures. The biophysical properties of the lipopolyplexes and their transfection efficiencies in a basal-like breast cancer cell line were investigated using plasmid DNA bearing genes for the expression of firefly luciferase and green fluorescent protein. Fluorescence quenching experiments were also used to probe the macromolecular organisation of the peptide and pDNA components of the lipopolyplexes. We demonstrated that both approaches to lipopolyplex targeting give reasonable transfection efficiencies, and the transfection efficiency of each lipopolyplex formulation is highly dependent on the sequence of the targeting peptide. To achieve maximum therapeutic efficiency, different peptide targeting sequences and lipopolyplex architectures should be investigated for each target cell type.
Assuntos
Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/química , Neoplasias da Mama/terapia , DNA/química , Técnicas de Transferência de Genes , Lipídeos/química , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/síntese química , Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , DNA/genética , Receptores ErbB/antagonistas & inibidores , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Feminino , Vetores Genéticos/química , Vetores Genéticos/genética , Humanos , Ligantes , Plasmídeos/química , Conformação Proteica , Propriedades de Superfície , TransfecçãoRESUMO
Spider venom toxins, such as Protoxin-II (ProTx-II), have recently received much attention as selective Nav1.7 channel blockers, with potential to be developed as leads for the treatment of chronic nocioceptive pain. ProTx-II is a 30-amino acid peptide with three disulfide bonds that has been reported to adopt a well-defined inhibitory cystine knot (ICK) scaffold structure. Potential drawbacks with such peptides include poor pharmacodynamics and potential scrambling of the disulfide bonds in vivo. In order to address these issues, in the present study we report the solid-phase synthesis of lanthionine-bridged analogues of ProTx-II, in which one of the three disulfide bridges is replaced with a thioether linkage, and evaluate the biological properties of these analogues. We have also investigated the folding and disulfide bridging patterns arising from different methods of oxidation of the linear peptide precursor. Finally, we report the X-ray crystal structure of ProTx-II to atomic resolution; to our knowledge this is the first crystal structure of an ICK spider venom peptide not bound to a substrate.
Assuntos
Dissulfetos/farmacologia , Canal de Sódio Disparado por Voltagem NAV1.7/metabolismo , Peptídeos/farmacologia , Venenos de Aranha/farmacologia , Aranhas/química , Bloqueadores do Canal de Sódio Disparado por Voltagem/farmacologia , Animais , Cristalografia por Raios X , Dissulfetos/química , Modelos Moleculares , Conformação Molecular/efeitos dos fármacos , Peptídeos/química , Venenos de Aranha/química , Bloqueadores do Canal de Sódio Disparado por Voltagem/químicaRESUMO
Photoacoustic imaging combines both excellent spatial resolution with high contrast and specificity, without the need for patients to be exposed to ionizing radiation. This makes it ideal for the study of physiological changes occurring during tumorigenesis and cardiovascular disease. In order to fully exploit the potential of this technique, new exogenous contrast agents with strong absorbance in the near-infrared range, good stability and biocompatibility, are required. In this paper, we report the formulation and characterization of a novel series of endogenous contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging in vivo. These contrast agents are based on a recently reported series of indigoid π-conjugated organic semiconductors, coformulated with 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, to give semiconducting polymer nanoparticles of about 150 nm diameter. These nanoparticles exhibited excellent absorption in the near-infrared region, with good photoacoustic signal generation efficiencies, high photostability, and extinction coefficients of up to three times higher than those previously reported. The absorption maximum is conveniently located in the spectral region of low absorption of chromophores within human tissue. Using the most promising semiconducting polymer nanoparticle, we have demonstrated wavelength-dependent differential contrast between vasculature and the nanoparticles, which can be used to unambiguously discriminate the presence of the contrast agent in vivo.
Assuntos
Meios de Contraste/química , Imagem Molecular/métodos , Nanopartículas/química , Técnicas Fotoacústicas/métodos , Vasos Sanguíneos/diagnóstico por imagem , Humanos , Polímeros/química , Semicondutores , Espectroscopia de Luz Próxima ao InfravermelhoRESUMO
This article outlines the benefits of using 'Design of Experiments' (DoE) optimisation during the development of new synthetic methodology. A particularly important factor in the development of new chemical reactions is the choice of solvent which can often drastically alter the efficiency and selectivity of a process. Whilst solvent optimisation is usually done in a non-systematic way based upon a chemist's intuition and previous laboratory experience, we illustrate how optimisation of the solvent for a reaction can be carried out by using a 'map of solvent space' in a DoE optimisation. A new solvent map has been developed specifically for optimisation of new chemical reactions using principle component analysis (PCA) incorporating 136 solvents with a wide range of properties. The new solvent map has been used to identify safer alternatives to toxic/hazardous solvents, and also in the optimisation of an S(N)Ar reaction.
RESUMO
A novel series of 8-amino imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives has been developed as inhibitors of the VirB11 ATPase HP0525, a key component of the bacterial type IV secretion system. A flexible synthetic route to both 2- and 3-aryl substituted regioisomers has been developed. The resulting series of imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines has been used to probe the structure-activity relationships of these inhibitors, which show potential as antibacterial agents.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/química , Proteínas de Bactérias/antagonistas & inibidores , Imidazóis/química , Pirazinas/química , Antibacterianos/síntese química , Antibacterianos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Sítios de Ligação , Bactérias Gram-Negativas/metabolismo , Imidazóis/síntese química , Imidazóis/metabolismo , Cinética , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Ligação Proteica , Estrutura Terciária de Proteína , Pirazinas/síntese química , Pirazinas/metabolismo , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
The lantibiotics are a family of antibacterial cyclic peptides distinguished by one or more thioether linkages between amino acid side chains, and by unique modes of action. Recent developments in the chemical synthesis, mutagenesis and mutasynthesis of these peptides are providing insights into the structural requirements for antibacterial activity and into the mode of action, as well as having the potential to produce analogues with greater stability, potency and bioavailability. This Review provides a survey of these recent advances.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Bactérias/efeitos dos fármacos , Infecções Bacterianas/tratamento farmacológico , Bacteriocinas/química , Bacteriocinas/farmacologia , Animais , Humanos , Peptídeos Cíclicos/química , Peptídeos Cíclicos/farmacologiaRESUMO
Electrical stimulation has shown promise in clinical studies to treat nerve injuries. This work is aimed to create an aligned bioelectronic construct that can be used to bridge a nerve gap, directly interfacing with the damaged nerve tissue to provide growth support. The conductive three-dimensional bioelectronic scaffolds described herein are composite materials, comprised of conductive polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles embedded in an aligned collagen hydrogel. The bioelectronic constructs are seeded with dorsal root ganglion derived primary rat neurons and electrically stimulated in vitro. The PPy loaded constructs support a 1.7-fold increase in neurite length in comparison to control collagen constructs. Furthermore, upon electrical stimulation of the PPy-collagen construct, a 1.8-fold increase in neurite length is shown. This work illustrates the potential of bioelectronic constructs in neural tissue engineering and lays the groundwork for the development of novel bioelectronic materials for neural interfacing applications.
RESUMO
Cationic peptide sequences, whether linear, branched, or dendritic, are widely used to condense and protect DNA in both polyplex and lipopolyplex gene delivery vectors. How these peptides behave within these particles and the consequences this has on transfection efficiency remain poorly understood. We have compared, in parallel, a complete series of cationic peptides, both branched and linear, coformulated with plasmid DNA to give polyplexes, or with plasmid DNA and the cationic lipid, DOTMA, mixed with 50% of the neutral helper lipid, DOPE, to give lipopolyplexes, and correlated the transfection efficiencies of these complexes to their biophysical properties. Lipopolyplexes formulated from branched Arg-rich peptides, or linear Lys-rich peptides, show the best transfection efficiencies in an alveolar epithelial cell line, with His-rich peptides being relatively ineffective. The majority of the biophysical studies (circular dichroism, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, small angle neutron scattering, and gel band shift assay) indicated that all of the formulations were similar in size, surface charge, and lipid bilayer structure, and longer cationic sequences, in general, gave better transfection efficiencies. Whereas lipopolyplexes formulated from branched Arg-containing peptides were more effective than those formulated from linear Arg-containing sequences, the reverse was true for Lys-containing sequences, which may be related to differences in DNA condensation between Arg-rich and Lys-rich peptides observed in the CD studies.
Assuntos
Vetores Genéticos/administração & dosagem , Vetores Genéticos/genética , Lipídeos/administração & dosagem , Lipídeos/genética , Peptídeos/administração & dosagem , Peptídeos/genética , Cátions/administração & dosagem , Cátions/química , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/genética , Química Farmacêutica/métodos , Dicroísmo Circular/métodos , DNA/administração & dosagem , DNA/química , DNA/genética , Células Epiteliais/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Técnicas de Transferência de Genes , Vetores Genéticos/química , Humanos , Lipídeos/química , Tamanho da Partícula , Peptídeos/química , Plasmídeos/administração & dosagem , Plasmídeos/química , Plasmídeos/genética , Alvéolos Pulmonares/efeitos dos fármacos , Alvéolos Pulmonares/metabolismo , Mucosa Respiratória/efeitos dos fármacos , Mucosa Respiratória/metabolismo , Transfecção/métodosRESUMO
Peptides play many key roles in biological systems and numerous methods have been developed to generate both natural and unnatural peptides. However, straightforward, reliable coupling methods that can be achieved under mild reactions conditions are still sought after. In this work, a new N-terminal tyrosine-containing peptide ligation method with aldehydes, utilising a Pictet-Spengler reaction is described. In a key step, tyrosinase enzymes have been used to convert l-tyrosine to l-3,4-dihydroxyphenyl alanine (l-DOPA) residues, generating suitable functionality for the Pictet-Spengler coupling. This new chemoenzymatic coupling strategy can be used for fluorescent-tagging and peptide ligation purposes.
RESUMO
Lipopolyplexes (LPDs) are of considerable interest for use as gene delivery vehicles. Here LPDs have been prepared from cationic vesicles (composed of a 1 : 1 molar ratio of DOTMA with the neutral helper lipid, DOPE), singly branched cationic peptides and plasmid DNA. All peptides contained a linker sequence (cleaved by endosomal furin) attached to a targeting sequence selected to bind human airway epithelial cells and mediate gene delivery. The current study investigates the effects of novel Arg-containing cationic peptide sequences on the biophysical and transfection properties of LPDs. Mixed His/Arg cationic peptides were of particular interest, as these sequences have not been previously used in LPD formulations. Lengthening the number of cationic residues in a homopolymer from 6 to 12 in each branch reduced transfection using LPDs, most likely due to increased DNA compaction hindering the release of pDNA within the target cell. Furthermore, LPDs containing mixed Arg-containing peptides, particularly an alternating Arg/His sequence exhibited an increase in transfection, probably because of their optimal ability to complex and subsequently release pDNA. To confer stability in serum, LPDs were prepared in 0.12 M sodium chloride solution (as opposed to the more commonly used water) yielding multilamellar LPDs with very high levels of size reproducibility and DNA protection, especially when compared to the (unilamellar) LPDs formed in water. Significantly for the clinical applications of the LPDs, those prepared in the presence of sodium chloride retained high levels of transfection in the presence of media supplemented with fetal bovine serum. This work therefore represents a significant advance for the optimisation of LPD formulation for gene delivery, under physiologically relevant conditions, in vivo.
Assuntos
Peptídeos , Cloreto de Sódio , Humanos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Transfecção , Peptídeos/química , DNA/química , Plasmídeos/genética , Lipossomos/químicaRESUMO
Class A serine ß-lactamases (SBLs) have a conserved non-active site structural domain called the omega loop (Ω-loop), in which a glutamic acid residue is believed to be directly involved in the hydrolysis of ß-lactam antibiotics by providing a water molecule during catalysis. We aimed to design and characterise potential pentapeptides to mask the function of the Ω-loop of ß-lactamases and reduce their efficacy, along with potentiating the ß-lactam antibiotics and eventually decreasing ß-lactam resistance. Considering the Ω-loop sequence as a template, a group of pentapeptide models were designed, validated through docking, and synthesised using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). To check whether the ß-lactamases (BLAs) were inhibited, we expressed specific BLAs (TEM-1 and SHV-14) and evaluated the trans-expression through a broth dilution method and an agar dilution method (HT-SPOTi). To further support our claim, we conducted a kinetic analysis of BLAs with the peptides and employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of peptides. The individual presence of six histidine-based peptides (TSHLH, ETHIH, ESRLH, ESHIH, ESRIH, and TYHLH) reduced ß-lactam resistance in the strains harbouring BLAs. Subsequently, we found that the combinational effect of these peptides and ß-lactams sensitised the bacteria towards the ß-lactam drugs. We hypothesize that the antimicrobial peptides obtained might be considered among the novel inhibitors that can be used specifically against the Ω-loop of the ß-lactamases.