Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Development of a Backbone Cyclic Peptide Library as Potential Antiparasitic Therapeutics Using Microwave Irradiation

Development of a Backbone Cyclic Peptide Library as Potential Antiparasitic Therapeutics Using Microwave Irradiation

Published on: January 26, 2016

Constructing bioactive peptides with pH-dependent activities.

Zhigang Tu¹, Melanie Volk, Khushali Shah

¹Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.

|May 26, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Normal Values for <sup>13</sup>N-Ammonia PET-derived Metrics in Heart Transplant Patients.

Journal of nuclear cardiology : official publication of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology·2026

Same author

The novelty of anticoagulation in LVAD Therapy: Current Practice, the Role of Direct Oral Anticoagulants, and Future Directions.

Journal of cardiovascular pharmacology·2026

Same author

De Novo Aortic Insufficiency and Its Progression in Patients on Microaxial Flow Pump Support Before Durable Left Ventricular Assist Device.

ASAIO journal (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs : 1992)·2026

Same author

Does Pacemaker Mode Affect Outcomes in Patients With HeartMate 3 LVAD?

ASAIO journal (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs : 1992)·2026

Same author

Leveraging Text-to-Image Diffusion Models for Unsupervised Visual Object Tracking.

IEEE transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence·2026

Same author

Comparison of Microcirculation in Chronic Heart Failure, Cardiogenic Shock, LVAD, and Heart Transplantation.

JACC. Advances·2026

Same journal

Potential role of intelectin-1 in the regulation of feeding of goldfish (Carassius auratus).

Peptides·2026

Same journal

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptides: Neuroanatomical distribution and functional implications in the mammalian central nervous system.

Peptides·2026

Same journal

P1642-1, a novel pancreatic polypeptide analogue, ameliorates cognitive impairment in 5 ×FAD mice and is associated with enhanced PINK1/Parkin-related mitophagy.

Peptides·2026

Same journal

Structure-based rational design of high-affinity JAZF1 variants peptides to target the testicular orphan nuclear receptor 4 and pro-opiomelanocortin axis in Cushing's disease.

Peptides·2026

Same journal

[Gly<sup>2</sup>]-GLP-2(1-5): An ultra-short GLP-2 peptide for intestinal mucosal protection in inflammatory bowel disease.

Peptides·2026

Same journal

The role of Kiss1 neurons in regulating metabolism and energy balance.

Peptides·2026

See all related articles

Researchers modified bioactive peptides by replacing arginine and lysine with histidine, creating pH-sensitive versions. These histidine-containing peptides exhibit tunable, enhanced cell-killing activity at lower pH levels, showing promise for targeted therapies.

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Peptide Chemistry
Biotechnology

Background:

Bioactive peptides often contain arginine and lysine residues.
Modifying these residues can alter peptide properties and functions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of replacing lysine and arginine with histidine in lytic peptides.
To develop bioactive peptides with tunable pH-dependent activity for potential therapeutic applications.

Main Methods:

Selective substitution of lysine and arginine residues with histidine in lytic peptides.
Assessing the cytotoxicity and activity of modified peptides at different pH values (7.4 and 5.5).
Analyzing the cell-killing mechanism and the impact of histidine substitution number and position.

More Related Videos

Constructing Cyclic Peptides Using an On-Tether Sulfonium Center

Constructing Cyclic Peptides Using an On-Tether Sulfonium Center

Published on: September 28, 2022

Preparation of Mechanically Stable Self-Assembled Peptides Hydrogels

Preparation of Mechanically Stable Self-Assembled Peptides Hydrogels

Published on: September 6, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Development of a Backbone Cyclic Peptide Library as Potential Antiparasitic Therapeutics Using Microwave Irradiation

Development of a Backbone Cyclic Peptide Library as Potential Antiparasitic Therapeutics Using Microwave Irradiation

Published on: January 26, 2016

Constructing Cyclic Peptides Using an On-Tether Sulfonium Center

Constructing Cyclic Peptides Using an On-Tether Sulfonium Center

Published on: September 28, 2022

Preparation of Mechanically Stable Self-Assembled Peptides Hydrogels

Preparation of Mechanically Stable Self-Assembled Peptides Hydrogels

Published on: September 6, 2024

Main Results:

Histidine-containing lytic peptides showed decreased overall activity but exhibited significant pH-dependent cytotoxicity.
Peptide activity increased 2-8 fold as pH decreased from 7.4 to 5.5.
The cell-killing mechanism remained consistent with parent peptides, involving cell lysis.
Activity and pH-sensitivity were tunable by altering histidine substitution.

Conclusions:

Replacing lysine and arginine with histidine is a viable strategy to engineer pH-sensitive bioactive peptides.
These modified peptides maintain their lytic mechanism while gaining tunable pH-dependent activity.
This approach offers a general strategy for designing peptides for applications like targeted cancer therapy.