Translational Research Using Carbohydrate Mimetic Peptides

In the era of translational research, carbohydrate-based drug discovery has yet to be explored. This is due in large part to our inability to undertake automated chemical synthesis of complex carbohydrates. This dilemma can be partially, if not totally, circumvented by using carbohydrate mimetic peptides, which can be identified from peptide-displaying phage library. In this approach, a phage clone displaying a short peptide that mimics part of the conformation of specific carbohydrate structure is selected by screening a peptide-displaying phage library using anti-carbohydrate antibody or lectin as target. Chemically synthesized peptides function as ligands for carbohydrate-binding proteins in vitro and in vivo. Peptides can also serve as immunogens to raise anti-carbohydrate antibodies in vivo in animals. This chapter provides examples of successful application of peptide-displaying phage technology to drug discovery. These approaches should benefit translational research by supplying carbohydrate mimetic peptides as diagnostics and therapeutics.