Richard M. Epand

TL;DR: There are several mechanisms by which viral fusion peptides accelerate the process of membrane fusion, including the promotion of negative curvature, lowering the rupture tension of the lipid monolayer, acting as an anchor to join the fusion membranes, transmitting a force to the membrane or imparting energy to the system by other means.

TL;DR: The effects of increasing the hydrophobicity of a series of homologous class A amphipathic peptides, including 5F, on physical and functional properties related to atherosclerosis inhibition by systematically replacing existing nonpolar amino acids with phenylalanine suggest that an appropriate balance between peptide-peptide and peptides-lipid interactions is required for optimal biological activity of amphipaths.

TL;DR: The sensitivity of the bilayer to hexagonal phase transition temperature to the presence of additives is at least as great as that which has been observed for any other lipid phase transition.

TL;DR: It is reported that purified Bax undergoes a reversible conformational change upon incubation with lipid vesicles in the absence of other proteins, providing evidence that Bax activation proceeds in a stepwise fashion, with multiple triggers and potential levels of regulation.

TL;DR: Nonpeptide mimics of antimicrobial peptides may provide the best of both worlds: a means of using the same mechanism chosen by Nature to control bacterial growth without the problems associated with peptide therapeutics.