Researchers report 3 peptides isolated from a species of the fungus Penicillium found in an Australian estuary that contain naturally formed amino acids exhibiting mirror image structures rarely seen in amino acids in nature; based on the peptides’ structures, the researchers developed bilorphin and bilactorphin, analgesics that act on opioid receptors but through a different signaling pathway than traditional opioid medications, suggesting that the analgesics might pave the way toward the development of drugs for effective pain management with few adverse side effects.
Article #19-08662: “A tetrapeptide class of biased analgesics from an Australian fungus targets the μ-opioid receptor,” by Zoltan Dekan et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: MacDonald J. Christie, University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA; e-mail:
[email protected]
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This part of information is sourced from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/potn-oaf100919.php
MacDonald J. Christie