SMAP-18 – Immunology – Antigens/Epitotes/Pools/Librairies

SMAP -18 is a truncated form of sheep myeloid anti-microbial peptide-29 (SMAP-29). SMAP-29 displays extremely high anti-microbial activity against fungi and gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas strains and multidrug-resistant pathogens, however it also has high cytotoxic activity to human cells. The carboxyl terminal is more hydrophobic and may be responsible for higher hemolytic activity of SMAP-29, whereas the anti-microbial activity has been attributed to the N-terminal amphipathic alpha-helix region (residues 1-18). SMAP-18 displays much higher cell selectivity as compared to parental SMAP-29 because of their decreased hemolytic activity and retained anti-microbial activity. The cathelicidins are a large family of structurally diverse host defence peptide (HDP- formerly called antimicrobial peptides) found in mammalian species including humans. All members of the cathelicidin family contain an N-terminal cathelin domain and a C-terminal domain of varied structure that displays anti-microbial activity.