COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS TO PROTECT CELLS BY BLOCKING ENTRY OF PATHOGEN PROTEINS

摘要

Pathogenic effector proteins include one or more virulence motifs of amino acid consensus sequence BXZ, where B=RK or H; X=any amino acid or is absent; Z=L, M, I, W, or F) which bind to target polar lipids on a host (plant or animal) cell as a prerequisite for translocation of the pathogenic effector proteins into the cell. Translocation is prevented by binding blocking compounds to one or more motifs of the effector protein or to the lipid ligands of the host cell. The blocking compounds include synthetic or naturally occurring polypeptides which bind the polar lipids or the motifs, various polar lipids, the hydrophilic head-groups of polar lipids, etc. Suitable blocking compounds can be identified by assays demonstrating binding to the motifs or to the target polar lipids.