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Vinutha AS, Rajasekaran R. Insight on the mechanism of hexameric Pseudin-4 against bacterial membrane-mimetic environment. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2023:10.1007/s10822-023-00516-2. [PMID: 37368161 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-023-00516-2] [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: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
As an alternative to antibiotics, Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) possess unique properties including cationic, amphipathic and their abundance in nature, but the exact characteristics of AMPs against bacterial membranes are still undetermined. To estimate the structural stability and functional activity of AMPs, the Pseudin AMPs (Pse-1, Pse-2, Pse-3, and Pse-4) from Hylid frog species, Pseudis paradoxa, an abundantly discovered source for AMPs were examined. We studied the intra-peptide interactions and thermal denaturation stability of peptides, as well as the geometrical parameters and secondary structure profiles of their conformational trajectories. On this basis, the peptides were screened out and the highly stable peptide, Pse-4 was subjected to membrane simulation in order to observe the changes in membrane curvature formed by Pse-4 insertion. Monomeric Pse-4 was found to initiate the membrane disruption; however, a stable multimeric form of Pse-4 might be competent to counterbalance the helix-coil transition and to resist the hydrophobic membrane environment. Eventually, hexameric Pse-4 on membrane simulation exhibited the hydrogen bond formation with E. coli bacterial membrane and thereby, leading to the formation of membrane spanning pore that allowed the entry of excess water molecules into the membrane shell, thus causing membrane deformation. Our report points out the mechanism of Pse-4 peptide against the bacterial membrane for the first time. Relatively, Pse-4 works on the barrel stave model against E. coli bacterial membrane; hence it might act as a good therapeutic scaffold in the treatment of multi-drug resistant bacterial strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Vinutha
- Quantitative Biology Lab, Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT, Deemed to be University), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - R Rajasekaran
- Quantitative Biology Lab, Department of Integrative Biology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT, Deemed to be University), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Park SC, Son H, Kim YM, Lee JK, Park S, Lim HS, Lee JR, Jang MK. Design of Antimicrobial Peptides with Cell-Selective Activity and Membrane-Acting Mechanism against Drug-Resistant Bacteria. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:1619. [PMID: 36421263 PMCID: PMC9686514 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11111619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can combat drug-resistant bacteria with their unique membrane-disruptive mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial effects of several membrane-acting peptides with amphipathic structures and positional alterations of two tryptophan residues. The synthetic peptides exhibited potent antibacterial activities in a length-dependent manner against various pathogenic drug-resistant and susceptible bacteria. In particular, the location of tryptophan near the N-terminus of AMPs simultaneously increases their antibacterial activity and toxicity. Furthermore, the growth inhibition mechanisms of these newly designed peptides involve cell penetration and destabilization of the cell membrane. These findings provide new insights into the design of peptides as antimicrobial agents and suggest that these peptides can be used as substitutes for conventional antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong-Cheol Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyosuk Son
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
- Department of Exhibition and Education, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Seocheon 33662, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Min Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Kook Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
| | - Soyoung Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Song Lim
- LMO Team, National Institute of Ecology (NIE), Seocheon 33657, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Ro Lee
- LMO Team, National Institute of Ecology (NIE), Seocheon 33657, Republic of Korea
| | - Mi-Kyeong Jang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Republic of Korea
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de Moraes LFRN, Silva PSE, Pereira TCPL, Almeida Rodrigues TA, Farias Frihling BE, da Costa RA, Torquato HFV, Lima CS, Paredes-Gamero EJ, Migliolo L. First generation of multifunctional peptides derived from latarcin-3a from Lachesana tarabaevi spider toxin. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:965621. [PMID: 36212827 PMCID: PMC9532841 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.965621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The need for discovering new compounds that can act selectively on pathogens is becoming increasingly evident, given the number of deaths worldwide due to bacterial infections or tumor cells. New multifunctional biotechnological tools are being sought, including compounds present in spider venoms, which have high biotechnological potential. The present work aims to perform the rational design and functional evaluation of synthetic peptides derived from Lachesana tarabaevi spider toxin, known as latarcin-3a. The antimicrobial activity was tested against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) between 4 and 128 μg.ml−1. Anti-biofilm tests were then performed to obtain MICs, where the peptides demonstrated activity from 4 to 128 μg.ml−1. In vitro cell cytotoxicity assays were carried out from tumor cell lines, lineages C1498, Kasumi-1, K-562, Jurkat, MOLT4, and Raji. Erythrocyte integrity was evaluated in the presence of synthetic peptides analog, which did not promote hemolysis at 128 μg.ml−1. The peptide that showed the best antibacterial activity was Lt-MAP3 and the best antitumor was Lt-MAP2. In conclusion, rational design of multifunctional antimicrobial peptides may be promising alternative tools in the treatment of emerging diseases such as bacterial infections and tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiz Filipe Ramalho Nunes de Moraes
- S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
- Selkis Biotech, Startup, Laboratório de Artrópodes Peçonhentos, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Souza e Silva
- S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | | | | | - Breno Emanuel Farias Frihling
- S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
- Selkis Biotech, Startup, Laboratório de Artrópodes Peçonhentos, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Rosiane Andrade da Costa
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômica e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | | | - Cauê Santos Lima
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Edgar Julian Paredes-Gamero
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Ludovico Migliolo
- S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
- Selkis Biotech, Startup, Laboratório de Artrópodes Peçonhentos, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Ludovico Migliolo,
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Park SC, Kim JY, Lee JK, Lim HS, Son H, Yoo SH, Mun SE, Jang MK, Lee JR. Antifungal Mechanism of Vip3Aa, a Vegetative Insecticidal Protein, against Pathogenic Fungal Strains. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021; 10:antibiotics10121558. [PMID: 34943770 PMCID: PMC8698955 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10121558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Discovering new antifungal agents is difficult, since, unlike bacteria, mammalian and fungal cells are both eukaryotes. An efficient strategy is to consider new antimicrobial proteins that have variety of action mechanisms. In this study, a cDNA encoding Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa protein, a vegetative insecticidal protein, was obtained at the vegetative growth stage; its antifungal activity and mechanism were evaluated using a bacterially expressed recombinant Vip3Aa protein. The Vip3Aa protein demonstrated various concentration- and time-dependent antifungal activities, with inhibitory concentrations against yeast and filamentous fungi ranging from 62.5 to 125 µg/mL and 250 to 500 µg/mL, respectively. The uptake of propidium iodide and cellular distributions of rhodamine-labeled Vip3Aa into fungal cells indicate that its growth inhibition mechanism involves its penetration within cells and subsequent intracellular damage. Furthermore, we discovered that the death of Candida albicans cells was caused by the induction of apoptosis via the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and binding to nucleic acids. The presence of significantly enlarged Vip3Aa-treated fungal cells indicates that this protein causes intracellular damage. Our findings suggest that Vip3Aa protein has potential applications in the development of natural antimicrobial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong-Cheol Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea; (S.-C.P.); (J.-Y.K.); (J.-K.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Jin-Young Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea; (S.-C.P.); (J.-Y.K.); (J.-K.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Jong-Kook Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea; (S.-C.P.); (J.-Y.K.); (J.-K.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Hye Song Lim
- LMO Research Team, National Institute of Ecology, 1210 Geumgang-ro, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun 33657, Korea; (H.S.L.); (S.-H.Y.)
| | - Hyosuk Son
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea; (S.-C.P.); (J.-Y.K.); (J.-K.L.); (H.S.)
- National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, 101-75 Jangsan-ro, Janghang-eup, Seocheon-gun 33662, Korea
| | - Su-Hyang Yoo
- LMO Research Team, National Institute of Ecology, 1210 Geumgang-ro, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun 33657, Korea; (H.S.L.); (S.-H.Y.)
| | - Seong-Eun Mun
- Department of Biological Science, College of Natural Science, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538, Korea;
| | - Mi-Kyeong Jang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea; (S.-C.P.); (J.-Y.K.); (J.-K.L.); (H.S.)
- Correspondence: (M.-K.J.); (J.R.L.); Tel.: +82-62-750-3567 (M.-K.J.); +82-41-950-5820 (J.R.L.)
| | - Jung Ro Lee
- LMO Research Team, National Institute of Ecology, 1210 Geumgang-ro, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun 33657, Korea; (H.S.L.); (S.-H.Y.)
- Correspondence: (M.-K.J.); (J.R.L.); Tel.: +82-62-750-3567 (M.-K.J.); +82-41-950-5820 (J.R.L.)
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Bin Hafeez A, Jiang X, Bergen PJ, Zhu Y. Antimicrobial Peptides: An Update on Classifications and Databases. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:11691. [PMID: 34769122 PMCID: PMC8583803 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are distributed across all kingdoms of life and are an indispensable component of host defenses. They consist of predominantly short cationic peptides with a wide variety of structures and targets. Given the ever-emerging resistance of various pathogens to existing antimicrobial therapies, AMPs have recently attracted extensive interest as potential therapeutic agents. As the discovery of new AMPs has increased, many databases specializing in AMPs have been developed to collect both fundamental and pharmacological information. In this review, we summarize the sources, structures, modes of action, and classifications of AMPs. Additionally, we examine current AMP databases, compare valuable computational tools used to predict antimicrobial activity and mechanisms of action, and highlight new machine learning approaches that can be employed to improve AMP activity to combat global antimicrobial resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmer Bin Hafeez
- Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan;
| | - Xukai Jiang
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; (X.J.); (P.J.B.)
- National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Phillip J. Bergen
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; (X.J.); (P.J.B.)
| | - Yan Zhu
- Infection and Immunity Program, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; (X.J.); (P.J.B.)
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Yadav V, Misra R. A review emphasizing on utility of heptad repeat sequence as a tool to design pharmacologically safe peptide-based antibiotics. Biochimie 2021; 191:126-139. [PMID: 34492334 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Extensive usage of antibiotics has created an unprecedented scenario of the rapid emergence of many drug-resistant bacteria, which has become an alarming public health concern around the globe. Search for better alternatives that are as efficacious as antibiotics led to the discovery of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These small cationic amphiphilic peptides have emerged as a promising option as antimicrobial agents, owing to their multifaceted implications against varied pathogens. Recent years have witnessed tremendous growth in research on AMPs resulting in them being tested in clinical trials of which six got approved for topical application. The relatively less successful outcome has been attributed to the poor cell selectivity shown by most of the naturally occurring AMPs. This drawback needs to be circumvented by identifying strategies to design safe and effective peptides. In the present review, we have emphasized the importance of heptad repeat sequence (leucine and/or phenylalanine zipper motif) as a tool that has shown great promise in remodeling the toxic AMPs to safe antimicrobial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Yadav
- Department of Translational Medicine, Clinical Research Centre, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden; Interdisciplinary Cluster for Applied Genoproteomics (GIGA), University of Liège (ULiège), Liège, Belgium.
| | - Richa Misra
- Department of Zoology, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
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