Luis Alvarez Vega

🔬☣️

[Frontiers - Veterinary Science @FrontVetScience]

New Research: Regional phenotypic surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility in chicken-associated commensal Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, and Escherichia coli from Southern Transdanubia, Hungary https://t.co/fgk752ul9E #FrontiersIn #VeterinaryScience

[César de la Fuente @delafuentelab]

Thrilled to share that our paper, “Deep learning reveals antimicrobial peptides within prions,” is now published in @NatureMicrobiol @NaturePortfolio.

In this work, we used AI to ask an unexpected question: could proteins best known for their role in fatal neurodegenerative diseases also encode molecules that fight infection?

Prions and prion-like proteins are usually viewed through the lens of misfolding, aggregation, and disease. But biology is often more layered than our labels suggest. Our study shows that these proteins can contain encrypted antimicrobial peptides, which we call prionins.

This connection did not come out of nowhere. Previous studies had shown that certain amyloid-associated protein sequences, including amyloid-β and the cellular prion protein, can have antimicrobial or host-protective activity.

But until now, this had not been explored systematically across prion and prion-like proteins at scale.

Using our deep-learning platform APEX 1.1, we screened 19.3 million peptide fragments from 2,897 prion-related proteins. This search identified 1,179 candidate antimicrobial peptides, moving from scattered observations to a global AI-guided search across millions of possible protein fragments.

We then moved from prediction to experiment. Of 75 synthesized prionins, 59 inhibited at least one bacterial pathogen, including multidrug-resistant strains. Forty-two showed activity at 16 µM or lower against at least one pathogen.

Many prionins disrupted bacterial membranes, and a subset showed encouraging early selectivity, including minimal hemolysis and limited cytotoxicity. Two lead prionins also reduced Acinetobacter baumannii burden in a mouse skin-infection model, with efficacy comparable to polymyxin B in the model tested.

This is still early-stage work. We do not show that prionins are naturally released during infection or that they function physiologically in host defense, and these findings do not represent a treatment ready for patients.

But the study raises a provocative idea: proteins long viewed mainly as biological “villains” may also encode useful molecular functions.

More broadly, it shows how AI can become a discovery engine for biology: helping us search hidden molecular spaces, connect seemingly distant fields such as neurodegeneration and innate immunity, and uncover new starting points for medicine in places we might never have thought to look.

At a time when new antibiotics are urgently needed, expanding where we search matters.

Deeply grateful to @mdt_torres, Fangping Wan, and everyone who made this work possible, including @Penn, @CBE_Penn, @PennBioeng, @PennEngAI, @PennEngineers, @PennMedicine, @PennChemistry, @PennMicro, @PennPsych, and @PennSAS.

https://t.co/Teou3HbVOS

[Abhinaba Banerjee @Abhinaba_UCSD]

How many times have you designed qPCR primers... only to watch them fail?

Every failed primer costs time, reagents, & precious samples.

What if decades of successful RT-qPCR experiments could become your primer design guide instead?🧵👇

#qPCR #MolecularBiology @UCSanDiego

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[Carla Duran Gonzales @CarlsDuran]

Hola! Está mañana han abandonado a cachorros de aproximadamente 3 meses, actualmente tenemos 4 hembras. Se encuentran en buen estado de salud, tienen mucha energía, son muy juguetones y saben comer croquetas. Necesitamos encontrar adoptantes urgentemente

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[Juegos Olímpicos™ @juegosolimpicos]

¡MEDALLA DE #BRONCE PARA PERÚ! 🇵🇪🎉

Stefano Peschiera logró un tercer puesto histórico en vela Dinghy 7. 🥉

¡Perú vuelve a tener un medallista olímpico después de 32 años! ¡Felicitaciones! ❤️🤍❤️

#JuegosOlímpicos #Paris2024 I @copteamperu

[Rincón Curioso @RincnCuriosoo]

Hace 21 años se estrenó el último episodio de Coraje el perro cobarde

Con una calificación de 9.2/10 en IMDB, el capítulo llamado: “perfecto” se considera una obra maestra de la animación.

[Daniel Pellicer Roig @Dani_Pellicer]

Ayer nos íbamos a dormir después de que se anunciará todo un hito en la neurología.
Se ha descifrado el conectoma completo de una larva de mosca de la fruta. ¿Qué es el conectoma? ¿Por qué es importante? Te lo cuento en un #Danhilo 🧵👇

[𝐌𑁤 @ticnt_]

Arreglaron a estos cachorritos para llevarlos a una feria en Surco, fueron desde puente piedra y nadie los adoptó, ahorita los están regresando a su “casa”, q son personas q justamente no los quieren ahí

Por favor si hay alguien interesado en adopción o ayuden a difundir

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@sam_misha22 @Heliouz__ Para finalmente rendirnos y tomar taxi xd

[ScreenTime @screentime]

Hans Zimmer says his favorite score that he's ever written is #Interstellar 🪐

[Carla Duran Gonzales @CarlsDuran]

Nosotros haciendo pcr mientras tanto xd @LuisAlvarez_20

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@Guarromantico_ @CarlsDuran Miércoles xd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@CarlsDuran @perritos_qctd Jajajajs

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@CarlsDuran @Guarromantico_ Cuando te digo que mañana te cuento xd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@sam_misha22 Caminando en círculos xd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@sam_misha22 @mbbeautycrew Voy con sueño xd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@Guarromantico_ @CarlsDuran xdd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@nxstypxet @CarlsDuran xddd

[Luis Alvarez Vega @LuisAlvarez_20]

@CarlsDuran @Uriiggarcia Ajajajsj sii, necesito xd

[Coldplay @coldplay]

Thank You Lima