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Sharma P, Vaiwala R, Gopinath AK, Chockalingam R, Ayappa KG. Structure of the Bacterial Cell Envelope and Interactions with Antimicrobials: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:7791-7811. [PMID: 38451026 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Bacteria have evolved over 3 billion years, shaping our intrinsic and symbiotic coexistence with these single-celled organisms. With rising populations of drug-resistant strains, the search for novel antimicrobials is an ongoing area of research. Advances in high-performance computing platforms have led to a variety of molecular dynamics simulation strategies to study the interactions of antimicrobial molecules with different compartments of the bacterial cell envelope of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. In this review, we begin with a detailed description of the structural aspects of the bacterial cell envelope. Simulations concerned with the transport and associated free energy of small molecules and ions through the outer membrane, peptidoglycan, inner membrane and outer membrane porins are discussed. Since surfactants are widely used as antimicrobials, a section is devoted to the interactions of surfactants with the cell wall and inner membranes. The review ends with a discussion on antimicrobial peptides and the insights gained from the molecular simulations on the free energy of translocation. Challenges involved in developing accurate molecular models and coarse-grained strategies that provide a trade-off between atomic details with a gain in sampling time are highlighted. The need for efficient sampling strategies to obtain accurate free energies of translocation is also discussed. Molecular dynamics simulations have evolved as a powerful tool that can potentially be used to design and develop novel antimicrobials and strategies to effectively treat bacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pradyumn Sharma
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 560012
| | - Rakesh Vaiwala
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 560012
| | - Amar Krishna Gopinath
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 560012
| | - Rajalakshmi Chockalingam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 560012
| | - K Ganapathy Ayappa
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, 560012
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Tamucci JD, Alder NN, May ER. Peptide Power: Mechanistic Insights into the Effect of Mitochondria-Targeted Tetrapeptides on Membrane Electrostatics from Molecular Simulations. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:6114-6129. [PMID: 37904323 PMCID: PMC10841697 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in nine of the ten leading causes of death in the US, yet there are no FDA-approved therapeutics to treat it. Synthetic mitochondria-targeted peptides (MTPs), including the lead compound SS-31, offer promise, as they have been shown to restore healthy mitochondrial function and treat a variety of common diseases. At the cellular level, research has shown that MTPs accumulate strongly at the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM), slow energy sinks (e.g., proton leaks), and improve ATP production. Modulation of electrostatic fields around the IMM has been implicated as a key aspect in the mechanism of action (MoA) of these peptides; however, molecular and mechanistic details have remained elusive. In this study, we employed all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (MD) to investigate the interactions of four MTPs with lipid bilayers and calculate their effect on structural and electrostatic properties. In agreement with previous experimental findings, we observed the modulation of the membrane surface and dipole potentials by MTPs. The simulations reveal that the MTPs achieve a reduction in the dipole potential by acting to disorder both lipid head groups and water layers proximal to the bilayer surface. We also find that MTPs decrease the bilayer thickness and increase the membrane's capacitance. These changes suggest that MTPs may enhance how much potential energy can be stored across the IMM at a given transmembrane potential difference. The MTPs also displace cations away from the bilayer surface, modulating the surface potential and offering an alternative mechanism for how these MTPs reduce mitochondrial energy sinks like proton leaks and mitigate Ca2+ accumulation stress. In conclusion, this study highlights the therapeutic potential of MTPs and underlines how interactions of MTPs with lipid bilayers serve as a fundamental component of their MoA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey D Tamucci
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States
| | - Nathan N Alder
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States
| | - Eric R May
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States
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3
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Walsh OD, Choi L, Sigdel KP. Effect of CM15 on Supported Lipid Bilayer Probed by Atomic Force Microscopy. MEMBRANES 2023; 13:864. [PMID: 37999350 PMCID: PMC10672887 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13110864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are key components of the immune system. These peptides affect the membrane in various ways; some form nano-sized pores, while others only produce minor defects. Since these peptides are increasingly important in developing antimicrobial drugs, understanding the mechanism of their interactions with lipid bilayers is critical. Here, using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we investigated the effect of a synthetic hybrid peptide, CM15, on the membrane surface comprising E. coli polar lipid extract. Direct imaging of supported lipid bilayers exposed to various concentrations of the peptide revealed significant membrane remodeling. We found that CM15 interacts with supported lipid bilayers and forms membrane-spanning defects very quickly. It is found that CM15 is capable of remodeling both leaflets of the bilayer. For lower CM15 concentrations, punctate void-like defects were observed, some of which re-sealed themselves as a function of time. However, for CM15 concentrations higher than 5 µM, the defects on the bilayers became so widespread that they disrupted the membrane integrity completely. This work enhances the understanding of CM15 interactions with the bacterial lipid bilayer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Krishna P. Sigdel
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768, USA
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Pašalić L, Jakas A, Pem B, Bakarić D. Adsorption/Desorption of Cationic-Hydrophobic Peptides on Zwitterionic Lipid Bilayer Is Associated with the Possibility of Proton Transfer. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:1216. [PMID: 37508312 PMCID: PMC10376034 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12071216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides built up from dominantly cationic and hydrophobic amino acid residues with a distinguished ability to pass through the cell membrane. Due to the possibility of linking and delivering the appropriate cargo at the desired location, CPPs are considered an economic and less invasive alternative to antibiotics. Besides knowing that their membrane passage mechanism is a complex function of CPP chemical composition, the ionic strength of the solution, and the membrane composition, all other details on how they penetrate cell membranes are rather vague. The aim of this study is to elucidate the ad(de)sorption of arginine-/lysine- and phenylalanine-rich peptides on a lipid membrane composed of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) lipids. DSC and temperature-dependent UV-Vis measurements confirmed the impact of the adsorbed peptides on thermotropic properties of DPPC, but in an inconclusive way. On the other hand, FTIR spectra acquired at 30 °C and 50 °C (when DPPC lipids are found in the gel and fluid phase, respectively) unambiguously confirmed the proton transfer between particular titratable functional groups of R5F2/K5F2 that highly depend on their immediate surroundings (DPPC or a phosphate buffer). Molecular dynamic simulations showed that both peptides may adsorb onto the bilayer, but K5F2 desorbs more easily and favors the solvent, while R5F2 remains attached. The results obtained in this work highlight the importance of proton transfer in the design of CPPs with their desired cargo, as its charge and composition dictates the possibility of entering the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Pašalić
- Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Andreja Jakas
- Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Barbara Pem
- Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Danijela Bakarić
- Division of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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5
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Li Y, Ma Y, Yu J, Li C, Yu D, Dai R, Li Q, Cao CY. A dual functional polypeptide with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties for the treatment of periodontitis. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 242:124920. [PMID: 37196724 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Periodontitis has been reported as the sixth most prevalent disease in human beings. This destructive disease is closely related to systemic diseases. Existing local drug delivery systems for periodontitis suffer from poor antibacterial effect and drug resistance. Inspired by the pathogenesis of periodontitis, we implemented a strategy to construct a dual functional polypeptide LL37-C15, which exhibited remarkable antibacterial effect against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. In addition, LL37-C15 inhibits the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by controlling the inflammatory pathway and reversing macrophage M1. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effect of LL37-C15 was also verified in vivo in a periodontitis rat model through the morphometry and histological observations of alveolar bone, hematoxylin-eosin, and Trap staining in gingival tissue. The results of molecular dynamics simulations showed that LL37-C15 could selectively destroy the bacterial cell membrane and protect the animal cell membrane in a self-destructive manner. The results showed that the polypeptide LL37-C15, as a novel promising therapeutic agent, exhibited a great potential for the periodontitis management. What's more, this dual functional polypeptide provides a promising strategy for building a multifunctional therapeutic platform against the inflammation and other diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuexiang Li
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Yunfeng Ma
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Jianan Yu
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Cancan Li
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Da Yu
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Ruoxi Dai
- Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Department of Comprehensive Care, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Quanli Li
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Chris Ying Cao
- Stomatologic Hospital & College, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China.
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Zaeifi D, Najafi A, Mirnejad R. Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Antimicrobial Peptide CM15 in Staphylococcus Aureus and Escherichia coli Model Bilayer Lipid. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 21:e3344. [PMID: 37228629 PMCID: PMC10203184 DOI: 10.30498/ijb.2023.337246.3344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Background In animals and plants, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are crucial components of defense mechanisms, as they play a crucial role in innate immunity, which protects hosts from pathogenic bacteria. The CM15 has attracted considerable interest as a novel antibiotic against gram-negative and positive pathogens. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the permeation potential of the CM15 with membrane bilayers of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Material and Methods The bilayer membranes of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were modelled with the resemblance in lipid composition to its biological sample. This study followed Protein-Membrane Interaction (PMI) through successive applications of molecular dynamics simulation by GROMACS and CHARMM36 force field for two sets of 120-ns simulations. Results Significant results were obtained from analyzing the trajectory of the unsuccessful insertion of CM15 during simulation. Our data suggested that Lysine residues in CM15 and Cardiolipins in membrane leaflets play a crucial role in stability and interaction terms. Conclusion The obtained results strengthen the insertion possibility through the toroidal model, which should consider for further studies on AMPs interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Reza Mirnejad
- Molecular Biology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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7
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Singh P, Szigyártó IC, Ricci M, Gaál A, Quemé‐Peña MM, Kitka D, Fülöp L, Turiák L, Drahos L, Varga Z, Beke‐Somfai T. Removal and identification of external protein corona members from RBC-derived extracellular vesicles by surface manipulating antimicrobial peptides. JOURNAL OF EXTRACELLULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 2:e78. [PMID: 38938416 PMCID: PMC11080927 DOI: 10.1002/jex2.78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
In the last years, extracellular vesicles (EVs), secreted by various cells and body fluids have shown extreme potential in biomedical applications. Increasing number of studies suggest that a protein corona could adhere to the surface of EVs which can have a fundamental effect on their function, targeting and therapeutical efficacy. However, removing and identifying these corona members is currently a challenging task to achieve. In this study we have employed red blood cell-derived extracellular vesicles (REVs) as a model system and three membrane active antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), LL-37, FK-16 and CM15, to test whether they can be used to remove protein corona members from the surface of vesicles. These AMPs were reported to preferentially exert their membrane-related activity via one of the common helical surface-covering models and do not significantly affect the interior of lipid bilayer bodies. The interaction between the peptides and the REVs was followed by biophysical techniques, such as flow-linear dichroism spectroscopy which provided the effective applicable peptide concentration for protein removal. REV samples were then subjected to subsequent size exclusion chromatography and to proteomics analysis. Based on the comparison of control REVs with the peptide treated samples, seventeen proteins were identified as external protein corona members. From the three investigated AMPs, FK-16 can be considered as the best candidate to further optimize EV-related applicability of AMPs. Our results on the REV model system envisage that membrane active peptides may become a useful set of tools in engineering and modifying surfaces of EVs and other lipid-based natural particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Singh
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiomolecular Self‐assembly Research GroupResearch Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
- Hevesy György PhD School of ChemistryELTE Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
| | - Imola Cs. Szigyártó
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiomolecular Self‐assembly Research GroupResearch Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Maria Ricci
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiomolecular Self‐assembly Research GroupResearch Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Anikó Gaál
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiological Nanochemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Mayra Maritza Quemé‐Peña
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiomolecular Self‐assembly Research GroupResearch Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
- Hevesy György PhD School of ChemistryELTE Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
| | - Diána Kitka
- Hevesy György PhD School of ChemistryELTE Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiological Nanochemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Lívia Fülöp
- Department of Medical ChemistryUniversity of SzegedSzegedHungary
| | - Lilla Turiák
- Institute of Organic ChemistryMS Proteomics Research Group, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - László Drahos
- Institute of Organic ChemistryMS Proteomics Research Group, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Zoltán Varga
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiological Nanochemistry Research Group, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Tamás Beke‐Somfai
- Institute of Materials and Environmental ChemistryBiomolecular Self‐assembly Research GroupResearch Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
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8
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Application of a deep generative model produces novel and diverse functional peptides against microbial resistance. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 21:463-471. [PMID: 36618982 PMCID: PMC9804011 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance could threaten millions of lives in the immediate future. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an alternative to conventional antibiotics practice against infectious diseases. Despite the potential contribution of AMPs to the antibiotic's world, their development and optimization have encountered serious challenges. Cutting-edge methods with novel and improved selectivity toward resistant targets must be established to create AMPs-driven treatments. Here, we present AMPTrans-lstm, a deep generative network-based approach for the rational design of AMPs. The AMPTrans-lstm pipeline involves pre-training, transfer learning, and module identification. The AMPTrans-lstm model has two sub-models, namely, (long short-term memory) LSTM sampler and Transformer converter, which can be connected in series to make full use of the stability of LSTM and the novelty of Transformer model. These elements could generate AMPs candidates, which can then be tailored for specific applications. By analyzing the generated sequence and trained AMPs, we prove that AMPTrans-lstm can expand the design space of the trained AMPs and produce reasonable and brand-new AMPs sequences. AMPTrans-lstm can generate functional peptides for antimicrobial resistance with good novelty and diversity, so it is an efficient AMPs design tool.
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9
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Sharma P, Ayappa KG. A Molecular Dynamics Study of Antimicrobial Peptide Interactions with the Lipopolysaccharides of the Outer Bacterial Membrane. J Membr Biol 2022; 255:665-675. [PMID: 35960325 DOI: 10.1007/s00232-022-00258-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
With rising bacterial resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been widely investigated as potential antibacterial molecules to replace conventional antibiotics. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms for membrane disruption are largely based on AMP interactions with the inner phospholipid bilayers of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Mechanisms for AMP translocation across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria composed of lipopolysaccharides and the asymmetric lipid bilayer are complicated by the secondary structure adopted by the peptide in the different membrane environments. We have employed atomistic molecular dynamics and umbrella-sampling simulations with an aggregate duration of [Formula: see text] 6 microseconds to obtain the free energy landscape of CM15 peptide translocating through the lipopolysaccharide region of Gram-negative bacteria, E. coli. The peptide has a favorable binding-free energy (- 130 kJ mol[Formula: see text]) in the O-antigen region with a large barrier (150 kJ mol[Formula: see text]) at the interface between the anionic core saccharides and upper bilayer leaflet made up of lipid-A molecules. Restraint-free molecular dynamics simulations show that the random coil structure is favored over the helix in both the extracellular aqueous region and the cation-rich core-saccharide regions of the outer membrane. The peptide and membrane properties are analyzed at each of the 100 ns duration of the umbrella-sampling windows to illustrate changes in peptide length, orientation, and hydration. Our study provides insights into the free energy landscape for the insertion of the AMP CM15 in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, and we discuss the implications of our findings with the broader question of how AMPs overcome this barrier during antimicrobial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pradyumn Sharma
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India.,Eli Lilly Services India Private Limited, Bengaluru, 560103, India
| | - K Ganapathy Ayappa
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India.
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10
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Sun L, Wang S, Tian F, Zhu H, Dai L. Organizations of melittin peptides after spontaneous penetration into cell membranes. Biophys J 2022; 121:4368-4381. [PMID: 36199252 PMCID: PMC9703044 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The antimicrobial peptide, melittin, is a potential next-generation antibiotic because melittin can spontaneously form pores in bacterial cell membranes and cause cytoplasm leakage. However, the organizations of melittin peptides in cell membranes remain elusive, which impedes the understanding of the poration mechanism. In this work, we use coarse-grained and all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the organizations of melittin peptides during and after spontaneous penetration into DPPC/POPG lipid bilayers. We find that the peptides in lipid bilayers adopt either a transmembrane conformation or a U-shaped conformation, which are referred to as T- and U-peptides, respectively. Several U-peptides and/or T-peptides aggregate to form stable pores. We analyze a T-pore consisting of four T-peptides and a U-pore consisting of three U-peptides and one T-peptide. In both pores, peptides are organized in a manner such that polar residues face inward and hydrophobic residues face outward, which stabilizes the pores and produces water channels. Compared with the U-pore, the T-pore has lower energy, larger pore diameter, and higher permeability. However, the T-pore occurs less frequently than the U-pore in our simulations, probably because the formation of the T-pore is kinetically slower than the U-pore. The stability and permeability of both pores are confirmed by 300 ns all-atom MD simulations. The peptide organizations obtained in this work should deepen the understanding of the stability, poration mechanism, and permeability of melittin, and facilitate the optimization of melittin to enhance the antibacterial ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Sun
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Simin Wang
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Fujia Tian
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Haoqi Zhu
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Liang Dai
- Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
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11
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Takahashi H, Sovadinova I, Yasuhara K, Vemparala S, Caputo GA, Kuroda K. Biomimetic antimicrobial polymers—Design, characterization, antimicrobial, and novel applications. WIRES NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 15:e1866. [PMID: 36300561 DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Biomimetic antimicrobial polymers have been an area of great interest as the need for novel antimicrobial compounds grows due to the development of resistance. These polymers were designed and developed to mimic naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides in both physicochemical composition and mechanism of action. These antimicrobial peptide mimetic polymers have been extensively investigated using chemical, biophysical, microbiological, and computational approaches to gain a deeper understanding of the molecular interactions that drive function. These studies have helped inform SARs, mechanism of action, and general physicochemical factors that influence the activity and properties of antimicrobial polymers. However, there are still lingering questions in this field regarding 3D structural patterning, bioavailability, and applicability to alternative targets. In this review, we present a perspective on the development and characterization of several antimicrobial polymers and discuss novel applications of these molecules emerging in the field. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruko Takahashi
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life Hiroshima University Higashi‐Hiroshima Hiroshima Japan
| | - Iva Sovadinova
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
| | - Kazuma Yasuhara
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology Nara Institute of Science and Technology Nara Japan
- Center for Digital Green‐Innovation Nara Institute of Science and Technology Nara Japan
| | - Satyavani Vemparala
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences CIT Campus Chennai India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute Training School Complex Mumbai India
| | - Gregory A. Caputo
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Rowan University Glassboro New Jersey USA
| | - Kenichi Kuroda
- Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan USA
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12
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Kim H, Yoo YD, Lee GY. Identification of Bacterial Membrane Selectivity of Romo1-Derived Antimicrobial Peptide AMPR-22 via Molecular Dynamics. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23137404. [PMID: 35806412 PMCID: PMC9266825 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23137404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The abuse or misuse of antibiotics has caused the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria, rendering most antibiotics ineffective and increasing the mortality rate of patients with bacteremia or sepsis. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are proposed to overcome this problem; however, many AMPs have attenuated antimicrobial activities with hemolytic toxicity in blood. Recently, AMPR-11 and its optimized derivative, AMPR-22, were reported to be potential candidates for the treatment of sepsis with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic toxicity. Here, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to clarify the mechanism of lower hemolytic toxicity and higher efficacy of AMPR-22 at an atomic level. We found four polar residues in AMPR-11 bound to a model mimicking the bacterial inner/outer membranes preferentially over eukaryotic plasma membrane. AMPR-22 whose polar residues were replaced by lysine showed a 2-fold enhanced binding affinity to the bacterial membrane by interacting with bacterial specific lipids (lipid A or cardiolipin) via hydrogen bonds. The MD simulations were confirmed experimentally in models that partially mimic bacteremia conditions in vitro and ex vivo. The present study demonstrates why AMPR-22 showed low hemolytic toxicity and this approach using an MD simulation would be helpful in the development of AMPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Kim
- Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea;
| | - Young Do Yoo
- Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea;
- Correspondence: (Y.D.Y.); (G.Y.L.)
| | - Gi Young Lee
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Correspondence: (Y.D.Y.); (G.Y.L.)
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13
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Patra P, Banerjee R, Chakrabarti J. Effect of biphosphate salt on dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer deformation by Tat polypeptide. Biopolymers 2022; 113:e23518. [PMID: 35621373 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Translocation of positively charged cell penetrating peptides (CPP) through cell membrane is important in drug delivery. Here we report all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how a biphosphate salt in a solvent affects the interaction of a CPP, HIV-1 Tat peptide with model dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayer. Tat peptide has a large number of basic arginines and a couple of polar glutamines. We observe that in absence of salt, the basic residues of the polypeptide get localized in the vicinity of the membrane without altering the bilayer properties much; polypeptide induce local thinning of the bilayer membrane at the area of localization. In presence of biphosphate salt, the basic residues, dressed by the biphosphate ions, are repelled by the phosphate head groups of the lipid molecules. However, polar glutamine prefers to stay in the vicinity of the bilayer. This leads to larger local bilayer thickness at the contact point by the polar residue and non-uniform bilayer thickness profile. The thickness deformation of bilayer structure disappears upon mutating the polar residue, suggesting importance of the polar residue in bilayer deformation. Our studies point to control bilayer deformation by appropriate peptide sequence and solvent conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piya Patra
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal, Haringhata, Nadia, West Bengal, India
| | - Raja Banerjee
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal, Haringhata, Nadia, West Bengal, India
| | - Jaydeb Chakrabarti
- Department of Chemical, Biological and Macro-Molecular Sciences, Thematic Unit of Excellence on Computational Materials Science and Technical Research Centre, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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14
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Tsai CY, Salawu EO, Li H, Lin GY, Kuo TY, Voon L, Sharma A, Hu KD, Cheng YY, Sahoo S, Stuart L, Chen CW, Chang YY, Lu YL, Ke S, Ortiz CLD, Fang BS, Wu CC, Lan CY, Fu HW, Yang LW. Helical structure motifs made searchable for functional peptide design. Nat Commun 2022; 13:102. [PMID: 35013238 PMCID: PMC8748493 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27655-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The systematic design of functional peptides has technological and therapeutic applications. However, there is a need for pattern-based search engines that help locate desired functional motifs in primary sequences regardless of their evolutionary conservation. Existing databases such as The Protein Secondary Structure database (PSS) no longer serves the community, while the Dictionary of Protein Secondary Structure (DSSP) annotates the secondary structures when tertiary structures of proteins are provided. Here, we extract 1.7 million helices from the PDB and compile them into a database (Therapeutic Peptide Design database; TP-DB) that allows queries of compounded patterns to facilitate the identification of sequence motifs of helical structures. We show how TP-DB helps us identify a known purification-tag-specific antibody that can be repurposed into a diagnostic kit for Helicobacter pylori. We also show how the database can be used to design a new antimicrobial peptide that shows better Candida albicans clearance and lower hemolysis than its template homologs. Finally, we demonstrate how TP-DB can suggest point mutations in helical peptide blockers to prevent a targeted tumorigenic protein-protein interaction. TP-DB is made available at http://dyn.life.nthu.edu.tw/design/ .
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Yu Tsai
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Medical Genomics and Proteomics, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, 100025, Taiwan.,Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan
| | - Emmanuel Oluwatobi Salawu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.,Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan.,Machine Learning Solutions Lab, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Herndon, VA, USA
| | - Hongchun Li
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.,Research Center for Computer-Aided Drug Discovery, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 518055, Shenzhen, China.,College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China.,Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Guan-Yu Lin
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Yu Kuo
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Liyin Voon
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Adarsh Sharma
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Kai-Di Hu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Yun Cheng
- Praexisio Taiwan Inc., New Taipei, 221425, Taiwan
| | - Sobha Sahoo
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Lutimba Stuart
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Wei Chen
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Yuan-Yu Chang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.,Praexisio Taiwan Inc., New Taipei, 221425, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Lin Lu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Simai Ke
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Christopher Llynard D Ortiz
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.,Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan.,Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan
| | - Bai-Shan Fang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China.,The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Key Lab for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China
| | - Chen-Chi Wu
- Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsinchu, 302058, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Yu Lan
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan. .,Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.
| | - Hua-Wen Fu
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan. .,Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.
| | - Lee-Wei Yang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan. .,Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan. .,Physics Division, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei, 106319, Taiwan. .,PhD Program in Biomedical Artificial Intelligence, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300044, Taiwan.
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15
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Silva ARP, Guimarães M, Rabelo J, Belen L, Perecin C, Farias J, Picado Madalena Santos JH, Rangel-Yagui CO. Recent advances in the design of antimicrobial peptide conjugates. J Mater Chem B 2022; 10:3587-3600. [DOI: 10.1039/d1tb02757c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are ubiquitous host defense peptides characterized by antibiotic activity and lower propensity for developing resistance compared to classic antibiotics. While several AMPs have shown activity against antibiotic-sensitive...
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16
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Kohut G, Juhász T, Quemé-Peña M, Bősze SE, Beke-Somfai T. Controlling Peptide Function by Directed Assembly Formation: Mechanistic Insights Using Multiscale Modeling on an Antimicrobial Peptide-Drug-Membrane System. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:15756-15769. [PMID: 34179620 PMCID: PMC8223213 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Owing to their potential applicability against multidrug-resistant bacteria, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or host defense peptides (HDPs) gain increased attention. Besides diverse immunomodulatory roles, their classical mechanism of action mostly involves membrane disruption of microbes. Notably, their unbalanced overexpression has also been associated with host cell cytotoxicity in various diseases. Relatedly, AMPs can be subject to aggregate formation, either via self-assembly or together with other compounds, which has demonstrated a modulation effect on their biological functions, thus highly relevant both for drug targeting projects and understanding their in vivo actions. However, the molecular aspects of the related assembly formation are not understood. Here, we focused in detail on an experimentally studied AMP-drug system, i.e., CM15-suramin, and performed all-atom and coarse-grain (CG) simulations. Results obtained for all systems were in close line with experimental observations and indicate that the CM15-suramin aggregation is an energetically favorable and dynamic process. In the presence of bilayers, the peptide-drug assembly formation was highly dependent on lipid composition, and peptide aggregates themselves were also capable of binding to the membranes. Interestingly, longer CG simulations with zwitterionic membranes indicated an intermediate state in the presence of both AMP-drug assemblies and monomeric peptides located on the membrane surface. In sharp contrast, larger AMP-drug aggregates could not be detected with a negatively charged membrane, rather the AMPs penetrated its surface in a monomeric form, in line with previous in vitro observations. Considering experimental and theoretical results, it is promoted that in biological systems, cationic AMPs may often form associates with anionic compounds in a reversible manner, resulting in lower bioactivity. This is only mildly affected by zwitterionic membranes; however, membranes with a negative charge strongly alter the energetic preference of AMP assemblies, resulting in the dissolution of the complexes into the membrane. The phenomenon observed here at a molecular level can be followed in several experimental systems studied recently, where peptides interact with food colors, drug molecules, or endogenous compounds, which strongly indicates that reversible associate formation is a general phenomenon for these complexes. These results are hoped to be exploited in novel therapeutic strategies aiming to use peptides as drug targets and control AMP bioactivity by directed assembly formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Kohut
- Institute
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Hevesy
György PhD School of Chemistry, ELTE
Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány
1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tünde Juhász
- Institute
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Mayra Quemé-Peña
- Institute
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Hevesy
György PhD School of Chemistry, ELTE
Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány
1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Szilvia Erika Bősze
- ELKH
Research Group of Peptide Chemistry, Eötvös
Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Beke-Somfai
- Institute
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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17
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Marzuoli I, Cruz CHB, Lorenz CD, Fraternali F. Nanocapsule designs for antimicrobial resistance. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:10342-10355. [PMID: 34137751 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr08146a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The pressing need of new antimicrobial products is growing stronger, particularly because of widespread antimicrobial resistance, endangering our ability to treat common infections. The recent coronavirus pandemic has dramatically highlighted the necessity of effective antibacterial and antiviral protection. This work explores at the molecular level the mechanism of action of antibacterial nanocapsules assembled in virus-like particles, their stability and their interaction with mammal and antimicrobial model membranes. We use Molecular Dynamics with force-fields of different granularity and protein design strategies to study the stability, self-assembly and membrane poration properties of these nanocapsules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Marzuoli
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Carlos H B Cruz
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology, King's College London, London, UK.
| | | | - Franca Fraternali
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology, King's College London, London, UK.
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18
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Martins IBS, Viegas TG, Dos Santos Alvares D, de Souza BM, Palma MS, Ruggiero Neto J, de Araujo AS. The effect of acidic pH on the adsorption and lytic activity of the peptides Polybia-MP1 and its histidine-containing analog in anionic lipid membrane: a biophysical study by molecular dynamics and spectroscopy. Amino Acids 2021; 53:753-767. [PMID: 33890127 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-021-02982-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune system of many species. AMPs are short sequences rich in charged and non-polar residues. They act on the lipid phase of the plasma membrane without requiring membrane receptors. Polybia-MP1 (MP1), extracted from a native wasp, is a broad-spectrum bactericide, an inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation being non-hemolytic and non-cytotoxic. MP1 mechanism of action and its adsorption mode is not yet completely known. Its adsorption to lipid bilayer and lytic activity is most likely dependent on the ionization state of its two acidic and three basic residues and consequently on the bulk pH. Here we investigated the effect of bulk acidic (pH 5.5) and neutral pH (7.4) solution on the adsorption, insertion, and lytic activity of MP1 and its analog H-MP1 to anionic (7POPC:3POPG) model membrane. H-MP1 is a synthetic analog of MP1 with lysines replaced by histidines. Bulk pH changes could modulate this peptide efficiency. The combination of different experimental techniques and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed that the adsorption, insertion, and lytic activity of H-MP1 are highly sensitive to bulk pH in opposition to MP1. The atomistic details, provided by MD simulations, showed peptides contact their N-termini to the bilayer before the insertion and then lay parallel to the bilayer. Their hydrophobic faces inserted into the acyl chain phase disturb the lipid-packing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingrid Bernardes Santana Martins
- Department of Physics, IBILCE, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Cristóvão Colombo, 2265-Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Taisa Giordano Viegas
- Department of Physics, IBILCE, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Cristóvão Colombo, 2265-Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Dayane Dos Santos Alvares
- Department of Physics, IBILCE, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Cristóvão Colombo, 2265-Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Bibiana Monson de Souza
- Department of Basic and Applied Biology, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Mário Sérgio Palma
- Department of Basic and Applied Biology, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - João Ruggiero Neto
- Department of Physics, IBILCE, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Cristóvão Colombo, 2265-Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil.
| | - Alexandre Suman de Araujo
- Department of Physics, IBILCE, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Cristóvão Colombo, 2265-Jardim Nazareth, São José do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil.
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19
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Molecular Simulations Guidelines for Biological Nanomaterials: From Peptides to Membranes. Methods Mol Biol 2021. [PMID: 32856257 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0928-6_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
In studying biological processes and focusing on the molecular mechanisms at the basis of these, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have demonstrated to be a very useful tool for the past 50 years. This suite of computational methods calculates the time-dependent evolution of a molecular system using physics-based first principles. In this chapter, we give a brief introduction to the theory and practical use of molecular dynamics simulations, highlighting the different models and algorithms that have been developed to tackle specific problems, with a special focus on classical force fields. Some examples of how simulations have been used in the past will help the reader in discerning their power, limitations, and significance.
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20
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Gulsevin A, Meiler J. Prediction of amphipathic helix-membrane interactions with Rosetta. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008818. [PMID: 33730029 PMCID: PMC8007005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Amphipathic helices have hydrophobic and hydrophilic/charged residues situated on opposite faces of the helix. They can anchor peripheral membrane proteins to the membrane, be attached to integral membrane proteins, or exist as independent peptides. Despite the widespread presence of membrane-interacting amphipathic helices, there is no computational tool within Rosetta to model their interactions with membranes. In order to address this need, we developed the AmphiScan protocol with PyRosetta, which runs a grid search to find the most favorable position of an amphipathic helix with respect to the membrane. The performance of the algorithm was tested in benchmarks with the RosettaMembrane, ref2015_memb, and franklin2019 score functions on six engineered and 44 naturally-occurring amphipathic helices using membrane coordinates from the OPM and PDBTM databases, OREMPRO server, and MD simulations for comparison. The AmphiScan protocol predicted the coordinates of amphipathic helices within less than 3Å of the reference structures and identified membrane-embedded residues with a Matthews Correlation Constant (MCC) of up to 0.57. Overall, AmphiScan stands as fast, accurate, and highly-customizable protocol that can be pipelined with other Rosetta and Python applications. Amphipathic helices are important targets as antibacterial peptides and as domains of membrane proteins that play a role in sensing the membrane environment. Understanding how amphipathic helices interact with membrane enables us to design better peptides and understand how membrane proteins use them to interact with their environment. However, there is a limited number of tools available for the modeling of amphipathic helices in membranes. Implicit membrane models can be used for this purpose as simplistic representations of the membrane environment. In this work, we developed the AmphiScan protocol that can be used to predict membrane coordinates of amphipathic helices starting with a helix structure in an implicit membrane environment. We benchmarked the performance of AmphiScan on engineered LK peptides, naturally-occurring amphipathic helices, and hydrophobic and hydrophilic peptides. Our approach provides a reliable and customizable tool to model amphipathic helix–membrane interactions, and pose a platform for the screening of amphipathic helix properties in silico.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alican Gulsevin
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Institute for Drug Discovery, Leipzig University Medical School, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
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21
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Simcock PW, Bublitz M, Cipcigan F, Ryadnov MG, Crain J, Stansfeld PJ, Sansom MSP. Membrane Binding of Antimicrobial Peptides Is Modulated by Lipid Charge Modification. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:1218-1228. [PMID: 33395285 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c01025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Peptide interactions with lipid bilayers play a key role in a range of biological processes and depend on electrostatic interactions between charged amino acids and lipid headgroups. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) initiate the killing of bacteria by binding to and destabilizing their membranes. The multiple peptide resistance factor (MprF) provides a defense mechanism for bacteria against a broad range of AMPs. MprF reduces the negative charge of bacterial membranes through enzymatic conversion of the anionic lipid phosphatidyl glycerol (PG) to either zwitterionic alanyl-phosphatidyl glycerol (Ala-PG) or cationic lysyl-phosphatidyl glycerol (Lys-PG). The resulting change in the membrane charge is suggested to reduce the binding of AMPs to membranes, thus impeding downstream AMP activity. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics to investigate the effects of these modified lipids on AMP binding to model membranes, we show that AMPs have substantially reduced affinity for model membranes containing Ala-PG or Lys-PG. More than 5000 simulations in total are used to define the relationship between lipid bilayer composition, peptide sequence (using five different membrane-active peptides), and peptide binding to membranes. The degree of interaction of a peptide with a membrane correlates with the membrane surface charge density. Free energy profile (potential of mean force) calculations reveal that the lipid modifications due to MprF alter the energy barrier to peptide helix penetration of the bilayer. These results will offer a guide to the design of novel peptides, which addresses the issue of resistance via MprF-mediated membrane modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick W Simcock
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | - Maike Bublitz
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | | | - Maxim G Ryadnov
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW, U.K
| | - Jason Crain
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
- IBM Research UK, Hartree Centre, Daresbury WA4 4AD, U.K
| | - Phillip J Stansfeld
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
- School of Life Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | - Mark S P Sansom
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
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22
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Ma L, Luo Y, Ma YH, Lu X. Interaction between Antimicrobial Peptide CM15 and a Model Cell Membrane Affected by CM15 Terminal Amidation and the Membrane Phase State. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:1613-1621. [PMID: 33464910 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c03498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as an effective class of antimicrobial agents against microorganisms. In this work, the interaction between an antimicrobial peptide, CM15, and a negatively charged phospholipid bilayer, DPPG, was studied via sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy. Two structurally correlated characteristic variables were introduced to reveal the interaction mechanism/efficiency, i.e. C-terminal amidation and temperature variation (∼20 °C, room temperature, and ∼35 °C, close to human body temperature). Experimental results indicated that owing to the increased positive charge, C-terminal amidation resulted in rapid adsorption onto the bilayer surface and efficient disruption of the outer layer, exhibiting less ordered insertion orientation. The elevated temperature (from ∼20 °C to ∼35 °C) promoted the penetration of both the outer and inner leaflets by the peptides and finally led to the disruption of the whole bilayer owing to the enhanced fluidity of the bilayer. From the perspective of the interaction mechanism, this experimental study provides two practical cues to understand the disruption process of the negatively charged model biomembranes, which can lay the structural foundation for designing and developing high-efficiency antimicrobial peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
| | - Yongsheng Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
| | - Yong-Hao Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
| | - Xiaolin Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
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23
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Chakraborty A, Kobzev E, Chan J, de Zoysa GH, Sarojini V, Piggot TJ, Allison JR. Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Interaction of Two Linear Battacin Analogs with Model Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacterial Cell Membranes. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:388-400. [PMID: 33458490 PMCID: PMC7807746 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c04752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a potential solution to the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance, but successful design of active but nontoxic AMPs requires understanding their mechanism of action. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can provide atomic-level information regarding how AMPs interact with the cell membrane. Here, we have used MD simulations to study two linear analogs of battacin, a naturally occurring cyclic, lipidated, nonribosomal AMP. Like battacin, these analogs are active against Gram-negative multidrug resistant and Gram-positive bacteria, but they are less toxic than battacin. Our simulations show that this activity depends upon a combination of positively charged and hydrophobic moieties. Favorable interactions with negatively charged membrane lipid head groups drive association with the membrane and insertion of hydrophobic residues, and the N-terminal lipid anchors the peptides to the membrane surface. Both effects are required for stable membrane binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aparajita Chakraborty
- Maurice
Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Centre
for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, Massey
University Auckland, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
| | - Elisey Kobzev
- Maurice
Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Centre
for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, Massey
University Auckland, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
- School
of Computational and Natural Sciences, Massey
University Auckland, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
| | - Jonathan Chan
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QU, United
Kingdom
| | | | - Vijayalekshmi Sarojini
- School of
Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- MacDiarmid
Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Thomas J. Piggot
- School
of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
- Chemical
Biological and Radiological Sciences, Defence
Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, United Kingdom
| | - Jane R Allison
- Maurice
Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- School
of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Centre
for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, Massey
University Auckland, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
- Biomolecular
Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
- Digital
Life Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
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24
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Puentes PR, Henao MC, Torres CE, Gómez SC, Gómez LA, Burgos JC, Arbeláez P, Osma JF, Muñoz-Camargo C, Reyes LH, Cruz JC. Design, Screening, and Testing of Non-Rational Peptide Libraries with Antimicrobial Activity: In Silico and Experimental Approaches. Antibiotics (Basel) 2020; 9:E854. [PMID: 33265897 PMCID: PMC7759991 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9120854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the challenges of modern biotechnology is to find new routes to mitigate the resistance to conventional antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an alternative type of biomolecules, naturally present in a wide variety of organisms, with the capacity to overcome the current microorganism resistance threat. Here, we reviewed our recent efforts to develop a new library of non-rationally produced AMPs that relies on bacterial genome inherent diversity and compared it with rationally designed libraries. Our approach is based on a four-stage workflow process that incorporates the interplay of recent developments in four major emerging technologies: artificial intelligence, molecular dynamics, surface-display in microorganisms, and microfluidics. Implementing this framework is challenging because to obtain reliable results, the in silico algorithms to search for candidate AMPs need to overcome issues of the state-of-the-art approaches that limit the possibilities for multi-space data distribution analyses in extremely large databases. We expect to tackle this challenge by using a recently developed classification algorithm based on deep learning models that rely on convolutional layers and gated recurrent units. This will be complemented by carefully tailored molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate specific interactions with lipid bilayers. Candidate AMPs will be recombinantly-expressed on the surface of microorganisms for further screening via different droplet-based microfluidic-based strategies to identify AMPs with the desired lytic abilities. We believe that the proposed approach opens opportunities for searching and screening bioactive peptides for other applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Ruiz Puentes
- Center for Research and Formation in Artificial Intelligence, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (P.R.P.); (P.A.)
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - María C. Henao
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia;
| | - Carlos E. Torres
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - Saúl C. Gómez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - Laura A. Gómez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - Juan C. Burgos
- Chemical Engineering Program, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena 130015, Colombia;
| | - Pablo Arbeláez
- Center for Research and Formation in Artificial Intelligence, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (P.R.P.); (P.A.)
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - Johann F. Osma
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia;
| | - Carolina Muñoz-Camargo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
| | - Luis H. Reyes
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia;
| | - Juan C. Cruz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota DC 111711, Colombia; (C.E.T.); (S.C.G.); (L.A.G.); (C.M.-C.)
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
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25
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Joodaki F, Martin LM, Greenfield ML. Planarity and out-of-plane vibrational modes of tryptophan and tyrosine in biomolecular modeling. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:23943-23965. [PMID: 31596287 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04798k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Tryptophan and tyrosine are amino acids that play significant roles in the folding processes of proteins at water-membrane interfaces because of their amphipathic heteroaromatic rings. Employing appropriate heteroaromatic molecular structures is essential for obtaining accurate dynamics and predictive capabilities in molecular simulations of these amino acids. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations that applied the most recent version of the CHARMM36 force field were conducted on aqueous solutions of tryptophan and of tyrosine. Geometric analysis and dynamics quantified how aromatic rings deviated from planar structures and exhibited out-of-plane fluctuations. Radial distribution functions showed possible biological significance because the extent of ring planarity slightly affected local water concentrations near aromatic rings. Instantaneous all-atom normal mode analysis (NMA) and Fourier transformation of time autocorrelation functions of out-of-plane displacements were applied to study out-of-plane vibrations of atoms in these rings. The NMA started with minimum energy configurations and then averaged over fluctuations in aqueous solution. The frequencies and frequency patterns that were obtained for tryptophan and tyrosine with CHARMM36 differed from literature reports of Raman spectra, infrared spectra, and frequencies calculated using quantum mechanics, with some out-of-plane modes found at higher frequencies. Effects of imposing improper torsion potentials and changing torsion angle force constants were investigated for all atoms in the rings of tryptophan and tyrosine. Results show that these coarse force field variations only affect planarity and out-of-plane vibrations of atoms within the rings, and not other vibrations. Although increasing improper torsion force constants reduced deviations from aromatic ring planarity significantly, it increased out-of-plane mode frequencies. Reducing torsion angle force constants (with and without improper torsions) shifted modes to lower frequencies. A combination of decreasing most torsion angle force constants for ring atoms in both amino acids and including improper torsion forces attained frequencies and frequency patterns for out-of-plane normal modes that were more similar to the literature spectra. These force field variations decreased the extents of out-of-plane vibrations within the heteroaromatic rings of tryptophan, especially around the nitrogen atom in the ring, but not within the heteroaromatic ring of tyrosine. Conclusions were unaffected by the peptide endgroup, water, or simulation ensemble.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faramarz Joodaki
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA.
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26
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Petkov P, Lilkova E, Ilieva N, Litov L. Self-Association of Antimicrobial Peptides: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study on Bombinin. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20215450. [PMID: 31683755 PMCID: PMC6862524 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20215450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 10/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a diverse group of membrane-active peptides which play a crucial role as mediators of the primary host defense against microbial invasion. Many AMPs are found to be fully or partially disordered in solution and to acquire secondary structure upon interaction with a lipid membrane. Here, we report molecular dynamics simulations studies on the solution behaviour of a specific AMP, bombinin H2. We show that in monomeric form in water solution the peptide is somewhat disordered and preferably adopts a helix-loop-helix conformation. However, when more than a single monomer is placed in the solution, the peptides self-associate in aggregates. Within the aggregate, the peptides provide each other with an amphipathic environment that mimics the water–membrane interface, which allows them to adopt a single-helix structure. We hypothesise that this is the mechanism by which bombinin H2 and, possibly, other small linear AMPs reach the target membrane in a functional folded state and are able to effectively exert their antimicrobial action on it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peicho Petkov
- Faculty of Physics, Atomic Physics Department, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 5 J. Bouchier Blvd, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - Elena Lilkova
- Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Block 25A, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - Nevena Ilieva
- Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Block 25A, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Institute of Informatics and Mathematics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Block 8, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - Leandar Litov
- Faculty of Physics, Atomic Physics Department, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 5 J. Bouchier Blvd, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.
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27
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Aragón-Muriel A, Ausili A, Sánchez K, Rojas A OE, Londoño Mosquera J, Polo-Cerón D, Oñate-Garzón J. Studies on the Interaction of Alyteserin 1c Peptide and Its Cationic Analogue with Model Membranes Imitating Mammalian and Bacterial Membranes. Biomolecules 2019; 9:biom9100527. [PMID: 31557903 PMCID: PMC6843542 DOI: 10.3390/biom9100527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effector molecules of the innate immune system and have been isolated from multiple organisms. Their antimicrobial properties are due to the fact that they interact mainly with the anionic membrane of the microorganisms, permeabilizing it and releasing the cytoplasmic content. Alyteserin 1c (+2), an AMP isolated from Alytes obstetricans and its more cationic and hydrophilic analogue (+5) were synthesized using the solid phase method, in order to study the interaction with model membranes by calorimetric and spectroscopic assays. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that both peptides had a strong effect when the membrane contained phosphatidylcholine (PC) alone or was mixed with phosphatidylglycerol (PG), increasing membrane fluidization. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to study the secondary structure of the peptide. Peptide +2 exhibited a transition from β-sheet/turns to β-sheet/α-helix structures after binding with model membranes, whereas peptide +5 had a transition from aggregation/unordered to β-sheet/α-helix structures after binding with membrane-contained PC. Interestingly, the latter showed a β-sheet structure predominantly in the presence of PG lipids. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) results showed that the carboxy-terminal of the peptide +5 has the ability to insert into the surface of the PC/PG membranes, resulting in the increase of the membrane fluidity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Aragón-Muriel
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Departmento de Química, Laboratorio of Investigación en Catalisis and Procesos (LICAP), Universidad del Valle, Cali 760001, Colombia.
| | - Alessio Ausili
- Departmento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular-A, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Campus of International Excellence Mare, Universidad de Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - Kevin Sánchez
- Grupo de Investigación en Química y Biotecnología (QUIBIO), Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali 760031, Colombia.
| | - Oscar E Rojas A
- Grupo de Investigación en Química y Biotecnología (QUIBIO), Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali 760031, Colombia.
| | - Juan Londoño Mosquera
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Departmento de Química, Laboratorio of Investigación en Catalisis and Procesos (LICAP), Universidad del Valle, Cali 760001, Colombia.
| | - Dorian Polo-Cerón
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Departmento de Química, Laboratorio of Investigación en Catalisis and Procesos (LICAP), Universidad del Valle, Cali 760001, Colombia.
| | - Jose Oñate-Garzón
- Grupo de Investigación en Química y Biotecnología (QUIBIO), Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali 760031, Colombia.
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28
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Marzuoli I, Margreitter C, Fraternali F. Lipid Head Group Parameterization for GROMOS 54A8: A Consistent Approach with Protein Force Field Description. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:5175-5193. [PMID: 31433640 PMCID: PMC7377650 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Membranes
are a crucial component of both bacterial and mammalian
cells, being involved in signaling, transport, and compartmentalization.
This versatility requires a variety of lipid species to tailor the
membrane’s behavior as needed, increasing the complexity of
the system. Molecular dynamics simulations have been successfully
applied to study model membranes and their interactions with proteins,
elucidating some crucial mechanisms at the atomistic detail and thus
complementing experimental techniques. An accurate description of
the functional interplay of the diverse membrane components crucially
depends on the selected parameters that define the adopted force field.
A coherent parameterization for lipids and proteins is therefore needed.
In this work, we propose and validate new lipid head group parameters
for the GROMOS 54A8 force field, making use of recently published
parametrizations for key chemical moieties present in lipids. We make
use additionally of a new canonical set of partial charges for lipids,
chosen to be consistent with the parameterization of soluble molecules
such as proteins. We test the derived parameters on five phosphocholine
model bilayers, composed of lipid patches four times larger than the
ones used in previous studies, and run 500 ns long simulations of
each system. Reproduction of experimental data like area per lipid
and deuterium order parameters is good and comparable with previous
parameterizations, as well as the description of liquid crystal to
gel-phase transition. On the other hand, the orientational behavior
of the head groups is more realistic for this new parameter set, and
this can be crucial in the description of interactions with other
polar molecules. For that reason, we tested the interaction of the
antimicrobial peptide lactoferricin with two model membranes showing
that the new parameters lead to a weaker peptide–membrane binding
and give a more realistic outcome in comparing binding to antimicrobial
versus mammal membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Marzuoli
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology , King's College London , London SE1 1UL , U.K
| | - Christian Margreitter
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology , King's College London , London SE1 1UL , U.K
| | - Franca Fraternali
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology , King's College London , London SE1 1UL , U.K
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29
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Song C, de Groot BL, Sansom MSP. Lipid Bilayer Composition Influences the Activity of the Antimicrobial Peptide Dermcidin Channel. Biophys J 2019; 116:1658-1666. [PMID: 31010668 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) carry great potential as new antibiotics against "superbugs." Dermcidin (DCD), a broad-spectrum AMP in human sweat, has been recently crystallized in its oligomeric state and showed channel-like properties. In this work, we performed multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to study how the membrane composition influences the behavior of a transmembrane pore formed by the DCD oligomer in the hope of revealing the origin of the membrane selectivity of this AMP toward bacteria. Our results indicate that bilayers composed of various lipids (DMPC, DPPC, and DSPC) with different thicknesses result in different orientations of the DCD oligomer when embedded in lipid bilayers. The thicker the bilayer, the less tilted the channel. Cholesterol makes the bilayers more rigid and thicker, which also affects the orientation of the channel. Furthermore, we observed that the predicted conductance of the channel from computational electrophysiology simulations is related to its orientation in the lipid bilayer: the larger the tilt, the larger the conductance. Our results indicate that the membrane composition has a significant influence on the activity of the DCD channel, with thicker, cholesterol-rich membranes showing lower conductance than that of thinner membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Song
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China; Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | - Bert L de Groot
- Department of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mark S P Sansom
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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30
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Duay SS, Sharma G, Prabhakar R, Angeles-Boza AM, May ER. Molecular Dynamics Investigation into the Effect of Zinc(II) on the Structure and Membrane Interactions of the Antimicrobial Peptide Clavanin A. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3163-3176. [PMID: 30908921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b11496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Clavanin A (ClavA) is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) whose antimicrobial activity is enhanced in the presence of Zn(II) ions. The antimicrobial activity of ClavA has been shown to increase 16-fold in the presence of Zn(II) ions. In this study, we investigate the potential sources of this enhancement, namely, the effect of Zn(II) binding on the helical conformation of ClavA and on the ClavA interaction with a model for gram-negative bacterial membranes. In addition, we investigate the effect of Zn(II) on the membrane mechanical properties. We employed all-atom equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations initiated from both fully helical and random coil structures of ClavA. We observe that Zn(II) can stabilize an existing helical conformation in the Zn(II)-binding region, but we do not observe induction of helical conformations in systems initiated in random coil configurations. Zn(II) binding to ClavA provides more favorable electrostatics for membrane association in the C-terminal region. This is evidenced by longer and stronger C-terminal-lipid interactions. Zn(II) is also capable of modulating the membrane properties in a manner which favors ClavA insertion and the potential for enhanced translocation into the cell. This work provides insights into the role of divalent metal cations in the antimicrobial activity of ClavA. This information can be used for the development of synthetic AMPs containing motifs that can bind metals (metalloAMPs) for therapeutic and medical purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gaurav Sharma
- Department of Chemistry , University of Miami , Coral Gables , Florida 33146 , United States
| | - Rajeev Prabhakar
- Department of Chemistry , University of Miami , Coral Gables , Florida 33146 , United States
| | | | - Eric R May
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology , University of Connecticut , 91 N. Eagleville Road , Storrs , Connecticut 06269 , United States
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31
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Wang J, Dou X, Song J, Lyu Y, Zhu X, Xu L, Li W, Shan A. Antimicrobial peptides: Promising alternatives in the post feeding antibiotic era. Med Res Rev 2018; 39:831-859. [PMID: 30353555 DOI: 10.1002/med.21542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 292] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), critical components of the innate immune system, are widely distributed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. They can protect against a broad array of infection-causing agents, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and tumor cells, and also exhibit immunomodulatory activity. AMPs exert antimicrobial activities primarily through mechanisms involving membrane disruption, so they have a lower likelihood of inducing drug resistance. Extensive studies on the structure-activity relationship have revealed that net charge, hydrophobicity, and amphipathicity are the most important physicochemical and structural determinants endowing AMPs with antimicrobial potency and cell selectivity. This review summarizes the recent advances in AMPs development with respect to characteristics, structure-activity relationships, functions, antimicrobial mechanisms, expression regulation, and applications in food, medicine, and animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajun Wang
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiujing Dou
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Jing Song
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Yinfeng Lyu
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Xin Zhu
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Lin Xu
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Weizhong Li
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Anshan Shan
- Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
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32
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Capozzi E, Aureli S, Minicozzi V, Rossi GC, Stellato F, Morante S. Designing effective anticancer-radiopeptides. A Molecular Dynamics study of their interaction with model tumor and healthy cell membranes. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2018; 1860:2348-2355. [PMID: 29883673 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
One of the greatest merit of the use of radiopeptides in oncology is their selectivity which, however, brings about the drawback that each radiopeptide is specific for a given tumor type. To overcome this problem the direction currently taken in drug design is that of radiolabelling peptide hormones (or their analogues), relying on their intrinsic ability to bind to specific receptors in precise areas of the human body, at the cost, however, of a poor selectivity against healthy cells. We present here an extensive Molecular Dynamics study of a promising alternative inspired by the mechanism through which antimicrobial peptides interact with the negatively charged bacterial membranes. Appropriately modifying the human antimicrobial peptide, LL-37, we designed a functionalized radionuclide carrier capable of binding more strongly to the negatively charged (model) tumor membranes than to the neutral healthy ones. The mechanism behind this behaviour relies on the fact that at the slight acidic pH surrounding tumor tissues the histidines belonging to the peptide get protonated thus making it positively charged. We have investigated by an extended numerical study the way in which this artificial peptide interacts with models of tumor and healthy cell membranes, proving by Potential Mean Force calculations that the affinity of the peptide to model tumor membranes is significantly larger than to healthy ones. These features (high affinity and generic tumor selectivity) recommend antimicrobial derived customized carriers as promising theranostic constructs in cancer diagnostic and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Capozzi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - S Aureli
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - V Minicozzi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
| | - G C Rossi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy; Centro Fermi - Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Piazza del Viminale 1, Roma 00184, Italy
| | - F Stellato
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - S Morante
- University of Rome Tor Vergata and INFN, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
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33
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Zhao L, Cao Z, Bian Y, Hu G, Wang J, Zhou Y. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Human Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37 in Model POPC and POPG Lipid Bilayers. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19041186. [PMID: 29652823 PMCID: PMC5979298 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19041186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cathelicidins are a large family of cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) found in mammals with broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. LL-37 is the sole amphipathic α-helical AMP from human Cathelicidins family. In addition to its bactericidal capability, LL-37 has antiviral, anti-tumor, and immunoregulatory activity. Despite many experimental studies, its molecular mechanism of action is not yet fully understood. Here, we performed three independent molecular dynamics simulations (600 ns or more) of a LL-37 peptide in the presence of 256 lipid bilayers with 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (POPG) mimicking bacterial and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) mimicking mammalian membranes. We found that LL-37 can be quickly absorbed onto the POPG bilayer without loss of its helical conformation in the core region and with the helix lying in parallel to the bilayer. The POPG bilayer was deformed. In contrast, LL-37 is slower in reaching the POPC surface and loss much of its helical conformation during the interaction with the bilayer. LL-37 only partially entered the POPC bilayer without significant deformation of the membrane. The observed difference for different bilayers is largely due to the fact that LL-37 is positively charged, POPG is negatively charged, and POPC is neutral. Our simulation results demonstrated the initial stage of disruption of the bacterial membrane by LL-37 in atomic details. Comparison to experimental results on LL-37 and simulation studies in other systems was made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liling Zhao
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
| | - Zanxia Cao
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
| | - Yunqiang Bian
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
| | - Guodong Hu
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
| | - Jihua Wang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
| | - Yaoqi Zhou
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
- Institute for Glycomics and School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, Parklands Dr, Southport, Queensland 4222, Australia.
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34
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Conjugates and nano-delivery of antimicrobial peptides for enhancing therapeutic activity. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2017.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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35
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Lipkin R, Lazaridis T. Computational studies of peptide-induced membrane pore formation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018. [PMID: 28630158 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A variety of peptides induce pores in biological membranes; the most common ones are naturally produced antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are small, usually cationic, and defend diverse organisms against biological threats. Because it is not possible to observe these pores directly on a molecular scale, the structure of AMP-induced pores and the exact sequence of steps leading to their formation remain uncertain. Hence, these questions have been investigated via molecular modelling. In this article, we review computational studies of AMP pore formation using all-atom, coarse-grained, and implicit solvent models; evaluate the results obtained and suggest future research directions to further elucidate the pore formation mechanism of AMPs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Membrane pores: from structure and assembly, to medicine and technology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Lipkin
- Department of Chemistry, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA.,Graduate Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Themis Lazaridis
- Department of Chemistry, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
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Yang R, Zhang G, Zhang F, Li Z, Huang C. Membrane permeabilization design of antimicrobial peptides based on chikungunya virus fusion domain scaffold and its antibacterial activity against gram-positive Streptococcus pneumoniae in respiratory infection. Biochimie 2018; 146:139-147. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2017.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Fu J, Yang H, Wang J. Computational design of the helical hairpin structure of membrane-active antibacterial peptides based on RSV glycoprotein epitope scaffold. Comput Biol Chem 2018; 73:200-205. [PMID: 29499459 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 02/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Peptides with helical hairpin conformation have been found to possess potent membrane activity and can be exploited as the structural scaffold of antibacterial peptides (ABPs). Here, we attempted to computationally design membrane-active ABPs based on the helical hairpin motif of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) glycoprotein epitope. Dynamics simulations revealed that the epitope peptide Rfe (net charge = -1) cannot effectively interact with and permeabilize bacterial membrane due to the electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged peptide and anionic membrane surface. The native Rfe can be modified to a cationic peptide Rfe-KKK (net charge = +6) by triple mutation of its positively charged residues Glu256, Asp263 and Asp269 to a basic lysine as well as by C-terminal amidation. As might be expected, the modified peptide was able to target membrane surface with a moderate antibacterial potency (MIC = 50-100 μg/ml). Next, a cyclized version of the linear Rfe-KKK was generated, termed as cycRfe-KKK, which was observed to have improved membrane activity and increased antibacterial potency (MIC < 50 μg/ml) by pre-stabilizing amphipathic hairpin conformation of the peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhua Fu
- Intensive Care Unit, Yidu Central Hospital Affiliated to Weifang Medical University, Qingzhou 262500, China.
| | - Hong Yang
- Emergency Department Work Office, Yidu Central Hospital Affiliated to Weifang Medical University, Qingzhou 262500, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Intensive Care Unit, Yidu Central Hospital Affiliated to Weifang Medical University, Qingzhou 262500, China
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Rice A, Wereszczynski J. Probing the disparate effects of arginine and lysine residues on antimicrobial peptide/bilayer association. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2017; 1859:1941-1950. [PMID: 28583830 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key components of the innate immune response and represent promising templates for the development of broad-spectrum alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Most AMPs are short, cationic peptides that interact more strongly with negatively charged prokaryotic membranes than net neutral eukaryotic ones. Both AMPs and synthetic analogues with arginine-like side chains are more active against bacteria than those with lysine-like amine groups, though the atomistic mechanism for this increase in potency remains unclear. To examine this, we conducted comparative molecular dynamics simulations of a model negatively-charged membrane system interacting with two mutants of the AMP KR-12: one with lysine residues mutated to arginines (R-KR12) and one with arginine residues mutated to lysine (K-KR12). Simulations show that both partition analogously to the bilayer and display similar preferences for hydrogen bonding with the anionic POPGs. However, R-KR12 binds stronger to the bilayer than K-KR12 and forms significantly more hydrogen bonds, leading to considerably longer interaction times. Additional simulations with methylated R-KR12 and charge-modified K-KR12 mutants show that the extensive interaction seen in the R-KR12 system is partly due to arginine's strong atomic charge distribution, rather than being purely an effect of the greater number of hydrogen bond donors. Finally, free energy simulations reveal that both peptides are disordered in solution but form an amphipathic α-helix when inserted into the bilayer headgroup region. Overall, these results highlight the role of charge and hydrogen bond strength in peptide bilayer insertion, and offer potential insights for designing more potent analogues in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Rice
- Department of Physics and The Center for Molecular Study of Condensed Soft Matter, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois 60616, USA
| | - J Wereszczynski
- Department of Physics and The Center for Molecular Study of Condensed Soft Matter, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois 60616, USA.
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Ermakova E, Zuev Y. Interaction of Scots Pine Defensin with Model Membrane by Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics. J Membr Biol 2017; 250:205-216. [DOI: 10.1007/s00232-017-9950-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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40
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Ma H, Cummins DD, Edelstein NB, Gomez J, Khan A, Llewellyn MD, Picudella T, Willsey SR, Nangia S. Modeling Diversity in Structures of Bacterial Outer Membrane Lipids. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 13:811-824. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.6b00856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Huilin Ma
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Daniel D. Cummins
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Natalie Brooke Edelstein
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Jerry Gomez
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Aliza Khan
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Masud Dikita Llewellyn
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Tara Picudella
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Sarah Rose Willsey
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Shikha Nangia
- Department of Biomedical
and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
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Antimicrobial Peptide Potency is Facilitated by Greater Conformational Flexibility when Binding to Gram-negative Bacterial Inner Membranes. Sci Rep 2016; 6:37639. [PMID: 27874065 PMCID: PMC5118786 DOI: 10.1038/srep37639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The interaction of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with the inner membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is a key determinant of their abilities to exert diverse bactericidal effects. Here we present a molecular level understanding of the initial target membrane interaction for two cationic α-helical AMPs that share structural similarities but have a ten-fold difference in antibacterial potency towards Gram-negative bacteria. The binding and insertion from solution of pleurocidin or magainin 2 to membranes representing the inner membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, comprising a mixture of 128 anionic and 384 zwitterionic lipids, is monitored over 100 ns in all atom molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of the membrane interaction on both the peptide and lipid constituents are considered and compared with new and published experimental data obtained in the steady state. While both magainin 2 and pleurocidin are capable of disrupting bacterial membranes, the greater potency of pleurocidin is linked to its ability to penetrate within the bacterial cell. We show that pleurocidin displays much greater conformational flexibility when compared with magainin 2, resists self-association at the membrane surface and penetrates further into the hydrophobic core of the lipid bilayer. Conformational flexibility is therefore revealed as a key feature required of apparently α-helical cationic AMPs for enhanced antibacterial potency.
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King MJ, Bennett AL, Almeida PF, Lee HS. Coarse-grained simulations of hemolytic peptide δ-lysin interacting with a POPC bilayer. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2016; 1858:3182-3194. [PMID: 27720634 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Revised: 09/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
δ-lysin, secreted by a Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, is a 26-residue membrane active peptide that shares many common features with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, it possesses a few unique features that differentiate itself from typical AMPs. In particular, δ-lysin has zero net charge, even though it has many charged residues, and it preferentially lyses eukaryotic cells over bacterial cells. Here, we present the results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of δ-lysin interacting with a zwitterionic membrane over a wide range of peptide concentrations. When the peptides concentration is low, spontaneous dimerization of peptides is observed on the membrane surface, but deep insertion of peptides or pore formation was not observed. However, the calculated free energy of peptide insertion suggests that a small fraction of peptides is likely to be present inside the membrane at the peptide concentrations typically seen in dye efflux experiments. When the simulations with multiple peptides are carried out with a single pre-inserted transmembrane peptide, spontaneous pore formation occurs with a peptide-to-lipid ratio (P/L) as low as P/L=1:42. Inter-peptide salt bridges among the transmembrane peptides seem to play a role in creating compact pores with very low level of hydration. More importantly, the transmembrane peptides making up the pore are constantly pushed to the opposite side of the membrane when the mass imbalance between the two sides of membrane is significant. Thus, the pore is very dynamic, allowing multiple peptides to translocate across the membrane simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariah J King
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States
| | - Ashley L Bennett
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States
| | - Paulo F Almeida
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States
| | - Hee-Seung Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, United States.
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Non-Enveloped Virus Entry: Structural Determinants and Mechanism of Functioning of a Viral Lytic Peptide. J Mol Biol 2016; 428:3540-56. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Revised: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Sahoo BR, Fujiwara T. Membrane Mediated Antimicrobial and Antitumor Activity of Cathelicidin 6: Structural Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulation on Multi-Microsecond Scale. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158702. [PMID: 27391304 PMCID: PMC4938549 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The cathelicidin derived bovine antimicrobial peptide BMAP27 exhibits an effective microbicidal activity and moderate cytotoxicity towards erythrocytes. Irrespective of its therapeutic and multidimensional potentiality, the structural studies are still elusive. Moreover, the mechanism of BMAP27 mediated pore formation in heterogeneous lipid membrane systems is poorly explored. Here, we studied the effect of BMAP27 in model cell-membrane systems such as zwitterionic, anionic, thymocytes-like (TLM) and leukemia-like membranes (LLM) by performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulation longer than 100 μs. All-atom MD studies revealed a stable helical conformation in the presence of anionic lipids, however, significant loss of helicity was identified in TLM and zwitterionic systems. A peptide tilt (~45˚) and central kink (at residue F10) was found in anionic and LLM models, respectively, with an average membrane penetration of < 0.5 nm. Coarse-grained (CG) MD analysis on a multi-μs scale shed light on the membrane-dependent peptide and lipid organization. Stable micelle and end-to-end like oligomers were formed in zwitterionic and TLM models, respectively. In contrast, unstable oligomer formation and monomeric BMAP27 penetration were observed in anionic and LLM systems with selective anionic lipid aggregation (in LLM). Peptide penetration up to ~1.5 nm was observed in CG-MD systems with the BMAP27 C-terminal oriented towards the bilayer core. Structural inspection suggested membrane penetration by micelle/end-to-end like peptide oligomers (carpet-model like) in the zwitterionic/TLM systems, and transmembrane-mode (toroidal-pore like) in the anionic/LLM systems, respectively. Structural insights and energetic interpretation in BMAP27 mutant highlighted the role of F10 and hydrophobic residues in mediating a membrane-specific peptide interaction. Free energy profiling showed a favorable (-4.58 kcal mol-1 for LLM) and unfavorable (+0.17 kcal mol-1 for TLM) peptide insertion in anionic and neutral systems, respectively. This determination can be exploited to regulate cell-specific BMAP27 cytotoxicity for the development of potential drugs and antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bikash Ranjan Sahoo
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Toshimichi Fujiwara
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Di Meo F, Fabre G, Berka K, Ossman T, Chantemargue B, Paloncýová M, Marquet P, Otyepka M, Trouillas P. In silico pharmacology: Drug membrane partitioning and crossing. Pharmacol Res 2016; 111:471-486. [PMID: 27378566 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2016.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decade, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become particularly powerful to rationalize drug insertion and partitioning in lipid bilayers. MD simulations efficiently support experimental evidences, with a comprehensive understanding of molecular interactions driving insertion and crossing. Prediction of drug partitioning is discussed with respect to drug families (anesthetics; β-blockers; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; antioxidants; antiviral drugs; antimicrobial peptides). To accurately evaluate passive permeation coefficients turned out to be a complex theoretical challenge; however the recent methodological developments based on biased MD simulations are particularly promising. Particular attention is paid to membrane composition (e.g., presence of cholesterol), which influences drug partitioning and permeation. Recent studies concerning in silico models of membrane proteins involved in drug transport (influx and efflux) are also reported here. These studies have allowed gaining insight in drug efflux by, e.g., ABC transporters at an atomic resolution, explicitly accounting for the mandatory forces induced by the surrounded lipid bilayer. Large-scale conformational changes were thoroughly analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent Di Meo
- INSERM UMR 850, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France
| | - Gabin Fabre
- LCSN, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France
| | - Karel Berka
- Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky̿ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Tahani Ossman
- INSERM UMR 850, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France
| | - Benjamin Chantemargue
- INSERM UMR 850, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France; Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky̿ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Paloncýová
- Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky̿ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Pierre Marquet
- INSERM UMR 850, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky̿ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Patrick Trouillas
- INSERM UMR 850, Univ. Limoges, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2 rue du Dr Marcland, F-87025, Limoges, France; Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky̿ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
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A peptide from human β thymosin as a platform for the development of new anti-biofilm agents for Staphylococcus spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2016; 32:124. [DOI: 10.1007/s11274-016-2096-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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47
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One-step synthesis of high-density peptide-conjugated gold nanoparticles with antimicrobial efficacy in a systemic infection model. Biomaterials 2016; 85:99-110. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.01.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Revised: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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48
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Pöyry S, Vattulainen I. Role of charged lipids in membrane structures - Insight given by simulations. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2016; 1858:2322-2333. [PMID: 27003126 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Lipids and proteins are the main components of cell membranes. It is becoming increasingly clear that lipids, in addition to providing an environment for proteins to work in, are in many cases also able to modulate the structure and function of those proteins. Particularly charged lipids such as phosphatidylinositols and phosphatidylserines are involved in several examples of such effects. Molecular dynamics simulations have proved an invaluable tool in exploring these aspects. This so-called computational microscope can provide both complementing explanations for the experimental results and guide experiments to fruitful directions. In this paper, we review studies that have utilized molecular dynamics simulations to unravel the roles of charged lipids in membrane structures. We focus on lipids as active constituents of the membranes, affecting both general membrane properties as well as non-lipid membrane components, mainly proteins. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Biosimulations edited by Ilpo Vattulainen and Tomasz Róg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanja Pöyry
- Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, POB 692, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland
| | - Ilpo Vattulainen
- Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, POB 692, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland; MEMPHYS - Center for Biomembrane Physics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, POB 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
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Pasenkiewicz-Gierula M, Baczynski K, Markiewicz M, Murzyn K. Computer modelling studies of the bilayer/water interface. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2016; 1858:2305-2321. [PMID: 26825705 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
This review summarises high resolution studies on the interface of lamellar lipid bilayers composed of the most typical lipid molecules which constitute the lipid matrix of biomembranes. The presented results were obtained predominantly by computer modelling methods. Whenever possible, the results were compared with experimental results obtained for similar systems. The first and main section of the review is concerned with the bilayer-water interface and is divided into four subsections. The first describes the simplest case, where the interface consists only of lipid head groups and water molecules and focuses on interactions between the lipid heads and water molecules; the second describes the interface containing also mono- and divalent ions and concentrates on lipid-ion interactions; the third describes direct inter-lipid interactions. These three subsections are followed by a discussion on the network of direct and indirect inter-lipid interactions at the bilayer interface. The second section summarises recent computer simulation studies on the interactions of antibacterial membrane active compounds with various models of the bacterial outer membrane. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Biosimulations edited by Ilpo Vattulainen and Tomasz Róg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Pasenkiewicz-Gierula
- Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Krzysztof Baczynski
- Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Michal Markiewicz
- Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Murzyn
- Department of Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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50
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Kyriakou PK, Ekblad B, Kristiansen PE, Kaznessis YN. Interactions of a class IIb bacteriocin with a model lipid bilayer, investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2016; 1858:824-35. [PMID: 26774214 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 01/06/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of antibiotic resistant microorganisms poses an alarming threat to global health. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered a possible effective alternative to conventional antibiotic therapies. An understanding of the mechanism of action of AMPs is needed in order to better control and optimize their bactericidal activity. Plantaricin EF is a heterodimeric AMP, consisting of two peptides Plantaricin E (PlnE) and Plantaricin F (PlnF). We studied the behavior of these peptides on the surface of a model lipid bilayer. We identified the residues that facilitate peptide-peptide interactions. We also identified residues that mediate interactions of the dimer with the membrane. PlnE interacts with the membrane through amino acids at both its termini, while only the N terminus of PlnF approaches the membrane. By comparing the activity of single-site mutants of the two-peptide bacteriocin and the simulations of the bacteriocin on the surface of a model lipid bilayer, structure activity relationships are proposed. These studies allow us to generate hypotheses that relate biophysical interactions observed in simulations with the experimentally measured activity. We find that single-site amino acid substitutions result in markedly stronger antimicrobial activity when they strengthen the interactions between the two peptides, while, concomitantly, they weaken peptide-membrane association. This effect is more pronounced in the case of the PlnE mutant (G20A), which interacts the strongest with PlnF and the weakest with the membrane while displaying the highest activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panagiota K Kyriakou
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
| | - Bie Ekblad
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Post box 1041 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Per Eugen Kristiansen
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Post box 1041 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Yiannis N Kaznessis
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
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