Structure-antibacterial activity relationship of cecropin A derivatives

NMR structure of mussel mytilin, and antiviral-antibacterial activities of derived synthetic peptides

Mytilin is a 34-residue antibacterial peptide from the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, which in addition possesses in vitro antiviral activity. The three-dimensional solution structure of the synthetic mytilin was established by using 1H NMR and consists of the common cysteine-stabilized alphabeta motif close to the one observed in the mussel defensin MGD-1. Mytilin is characterized by 8 cysteines engaged in four disulfide bonds (2-27, 6-29, 10-31, and 15-34) only involving the beta-strand II. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas of mytilin account for 63% and 37%, respectively, a ratio very close to that of MGD-1 (64% and 36%). One linear and three cyclic fragments were designed from the interstrand loop sequence known to retain the biological activities in MGD-1. Only the fragment of 10 amino acids (C10C) constrained by two disulfide bonds in a stable beta-hairpin structure was able to inhibit the mortality of Palaemon serratus shrimp injected with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Fifty percent inhibition was obtained by in vitro pre-incubation of WSSV with 45 microM of C10C compared with 7 microM for mytilin. Interaction between the fragment and the virus occurred very rapidly as 40% survival was recorded after only 1 min of pre-incubation. In addition, C10C was capable of inhibiting in vitro growth of Vibrio splendidus LGP32 (MIC 125 microM), Vibrio anguillarum (MIC 2mM), Micrococcus lysodeikticus and Escherichia coli (MIC 1mM). Destroying the cysteine-stabilized alphabeta structure or shortening the C10C fragment to the C6C fragment with only one disulfide bond resulted in loss of both antiviral and antibacterial activities. Increasing the positive net charge did not enforce the antibacterial activity and completely suppressed the antiviral one. The C10C-designed peptide from mytilin appeared comparable in composition and structure with protegrin, tachyplesin and polyphemusin.

Structure-function relationships among human cathelicidin peptides: dissociation of antimicrobial properties from host immunostimulatory activities

Cathelicidins and other antimicrobial peptides are deployed at epithelial surfaces to defend against infection. These molecules have broad-spectrum killing activity against microbes and can have effects on specific mammalian cell types, potentially stimulating additional immune defense through direct chemotactic activity or induction of cytokine release. In humans, the cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37 is processed to LL-37 in neutrophils, but on skin it can be further proteolytically processed to shorter forms. The influence of these cathelicidin peptides on keratinocyte function is not known. In the current study, DNA microarray analysis and confirmatory protein analysis showed that LL-37 affects the expression of several chemokines and cytokines by keratinocytes. Analysis of a synthetic peptide library derived from LL-37 showed that antimicrobial activity against bacterial, fungal, and viral skin pathogens resides within specific domains of the parent peptide, but antimicrobial activity does not directly correlate with the ability to stimulate IL-8 production in keratinocytes. IL-8 release was induced by d- and l-amino acid forms of cathelicidin and correlated with membrane permeability, suggesting that highly structure-specific binding to a cell surface receptor is not likely. However, this effect was inhibited by either pertussis toxin or AG1478, an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suggesting that cathelicidin may indirectly stimulate multiple signaling pathways associated with cell surface receptors. Taken together, these observations suggest that proteolytic processing may alter the balance between cathelicidin antimicrobial and host immunostimulatory functions.

Function and therapeutic potential of host defence peptides

Cationic host defence (antimicrobial) peptides are an important component of the innate immune systems of a wide variety of plants, animals, and bacteria. Although most of these compounds have direct antimicrobial activities under specific conditions, a greater appreciation for the diversity of functions of these molecules is beginning to develop in the field. In addition to their directly antimicrobial activities, they also have a broad spectrum of activity on the host immune system, with both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects being invoked. Increasingly sophisticated approaches to understand the role of host defence peptides in modulating innate immunity are already serving to guide the development of novel therapeutics.