Structure and mode of action of the membrane-permeabilizing antimicrobial peptide pheromone plantaricin A

The three-dimensional structure in dodecyl phosphocholine micelles of the 26-mer membrane-permeabilizing bacteriocin-like pheromone plantaricin A (PlnA) has been determined by use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The peptide was unstructured in water but became partly structured upon exposure to micelles. An amphiphilic alpha-helix stretching from residue 12 to 21 (possibly also including residues 22 and 23) was then formed in the C-terminal part of the peptide, whereas the N-terminal part remained largely unstructured. PlnA exerted its membrane-permeabilizing antimicrobial activity through a nonchiral interaction with the target cell membrane because the d-enantiomeric form had the same activity as the natural l-form. This nonchiral interaction involved the amphiphilic alpha-helical region in the C-terminal half of PlnA because a 17-mer fragment that contains the amphiphilic alpha-helical part of the peptide had antimicrobial potency that was similar to that of the l- and d-enantiomeric forms of PlnA. Also the pheromone activity of PlnA depended on this nonchiral interaction because both the l- and d-enantiomeric forms of the 17-mer fragment inhibited the pheromone activity. The pheromone activity also involved, however, a chiral interaction between the N-terminal part of PlnA and its receptor because high concentrations of the l-form (but not the d-form) of a 5-mer fragment derived from the N-terminal part of PlnA had pheromone activity. The results thus reveal a novel mechanism whereby peptide pheromones such as PlnA may function. An initial nonchiral interaction with membrane lipids induces alpha-helical structuring in a segment of the peptide pheromone. The peptide becomes thereby sufficiently structured and properly positioned in the membrane interface, thus enabling it to engage in a chiral interaction with its receptor in or near the membrane water interface. This membrane-interacting mode of action explains why some peptide pheromones/hormones such as PlnA sometimes display antimicrobial activity in addition to their pheromone activity.     

Structure and alignment of the membrane-associated antimicrobial peptide arenicin by oriented solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The antimicrobial arenicin peptides are cationic amphipathic sequences that strongly interact with membranes. Through a cystine ring closure a cyclic β-sheet structure is formed in aqueous solution, which persists when interacting with model membranes. In order to investigate the conformation, interactions, dynamics, and topology of their bilayer-associated states, arenicin 1 and 2 were prepared by chemical solid-phase peptide synthesis or by bacterial overexpression, labeled selectively or uniformly with (15)N, reconstituted into oriented membranes, and investigated by proton-decoupled (31)P and (15)N solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Whereas the (31)P NMR spectra indicate that the peptide induces orientational disorder at the level of the phospholipid head groups, the (15)N chemical shift spectra agree well with a regular β-sheet conformation such as the one observed in micellar environments. In contrast, the data do not fit the twisted β-sheet structure found in aqueous buffer. Furthermore, the chemical shift distribution is indicative of considerable conformational and/or topological heterogeneity when at the same time the (15)N NMR spectra exclude alignments of the peptide where the β-sheet lies side ways on the membrane surface. The ensemble of experimental constraints, the amphipathic character of the peptide, and in particular the distribution of the six arginine residues are in agreement with a boatlike dimer structure, similar or related to the one observed in micellar solution, that floats on the membrane surface with the possibility to oligomerize into higher order structures and/or to insert in a transmembrane fashion.     

Design of antimicrobial peptide arenicin analogs with improved therapeutic indices

β‐Hairpin antimicrobial peptides are among the most potent peptide antibiotics of animal origin. Arenicins, isolated earlier from marine polychaeta lugworm Arenicola marina, belong to a family of β‐hairpin antimicrobial peptides and display a broad spectrum of biological activities. However, despite being potent antimicrobials, arenicins are partially unapplicable as therapeutics as a result of their relatively high cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. In this study, a template‐based approach was used to create therapeutically valuable analogs of arenicin‐1 and identify amino acid residues important for antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the peptide. The plasmids encoding recombinant analogs were constructed by mutagenesis technique based on inverse PCR amplification of the whole arenicin‐1 expression plasmid. The analogs were produced as a part of the fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. It was shown that an obvious reduction in hemolytic activity without lose of antimicrobial activity can be achieved by a single amino acid substitution in the non‐polar face of the molecule with hydrophilic residues such as serine and arginine. As the result, the selective analog with 50‐fold improved therapeutic index was developed. The circular dichroism spectra demonstrated that the secondary structure of the analog was similar to the natural arenicin‐1 in water solution and sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles but significantly differed in the presence of dodecylphosphocholine micelles mimicking mammalian membranes. Similarly to arenicin‐1, the designed analog killed bacteria via induction of the membrane damage, assessed using the fluorescent dye SYTOX Green uptake. Our results afford molecular insight into mechanism of antimicrobial action of the designed arenicin analogs and their possible clinical application. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular insight into mechanism of antimicrobial action of the beta-hairpin peptide arenicin: specific oligomerization in detergent micelles

Arenicins are 21-residue cationic antimicrobial peptides isolated from marine polychaeta Arenicola marina. The peptides exhibit potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In water solution arenicin-2 adopts a beta-hairpin conformation, stabilized by one disulfide and nine hydrogen bonds. To determine the propensity for the peptide oligomerization in membrane mimetic systems, the recombinant arenicin-2 was overexpressed as a fused form in Escherichia coli. The arenicin-2 oligomerization and intermolecular packing in membrane mimicking environment were investigated using high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. The present studies show that arenicin-2 preserves a beta-hairpin structure and forms asymmetric dimers upon incorporation into the dodecylphosphocholine micelle. Two monomers of arenicin-2 are aligned parallel to each other by the N-terminal strands of the beta-hairpin (CN upward arrow upward arrowNC type of association). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that in environment of anionic SDS micelles the arenicin-2 might undergo further oligomerization and form tetramers. Our results afford further molecular insight into possible mechanism of antimicrobial action of arenicins.     

Investigations into the membrane activity of arenicin antimicrobial peptide AA139

Arenicin-3 is an amphipathic β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide that is produced by the lugworm Arenicola marina. In this study, we have investigated the mechanism of action of arenicin-3 and an optimized synthetic analogue, AA139, by studying their effects on lipid bilayer model membranes and Escherichia coli bacterial cells. The results show that simple amino acid changes can lead to subtle variations in their interaction with membranes and therefore alter their pre-clinical potency, selectivity and toxicity. While the mechanism of action of arenicin-3 is primarily dependent on universal membrane permeabilization, our data suggest that the analogue AA139 relies on more specific binding and insertion properties to elicit its improved antibacterial activity and lower toxicity, as exemplified by greater selectivity between lipid composition when inserting into model membranes i.e. the N-terminus of AA139 seems to insert deeper into lipid bilayers than arenicin-3 does, with a clear distinction between zwitterionic and negatively charged lipid bilayer vesicles, and AA139 demonstrates a cytoplasmic permeabilization dose response profile that is consistent with its greater antibacterial potency against E. coli cells compared to arenicin-3.     

Structure and mechanism of action of the antimicrobial peptide piscidin

Piscidin, an antibacterial peptide isolated from the mast cells of striped bass, has potent antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens in vitro. We investigated the mechanism of action of this 22-residue cationic peptide by carrying out structural studies and electrophysiological experiments in lipid bilayers. Circular dichroism experiments showed that piscidin was unstructured in water but had a high alpha-helix content in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. 1H NMR data in water and TFE confirmed these results and demonstrated that the segment of residues 8-17 adopted an alpha-helical structure in a micellar environment. This molecule has a marked amphipathic character, due to well-defined hydrophobic and hydrophilic sectors. This structure is similar to those determined for other cationic peptides involved in permeabilization of the bacterial membrane. Multichannel experiments with piscidin incorporated into azolectin planar bilayers gave reproducible I-V curves at various peptide concentrations and unambiguously showed that this peptide permeabilized the membrane. This pore forming activity was confirmed by single-channel experiments, with well-defined ion channels obtained at different voltages. The characteristics of the ion channels (voltage dependence, only one or two states of conductance) clearly suggest that piscidin is more likely to permeabilize the membrane by toroidal pore formation rather than via the "barrel-stave" mechanism.     

The role of the abundant phenylalanines in the mode of action of the antimicrobial peptide clavanin

Clavanin A is a special antimicrobial peptide that acts at the level of the membrane via a pH-dependent mechanism. At neutral pH, clavanin disrupts biological and model membranes in a nonspecific manner, causing efflux of large molecules. At mildly acidic conditions, however, the peptide efficiently kills bacteria by permeabilizing their membrane most likely by interacting with proteins involved in proton translocation [Biochemistry 41 (2002) 7529]. Clavanin A is unusually rich in phenylalanines with 5 out of 23 residues, which suggests that these residues are functionally important. A set of mutants, in which all Phe residues are replaced by either Ile, Leu, Trp, or Tyr was used to investigate the role of these amino acids. The antimicrobial activities of the different peptides both at neutral and low pH show that the presence of phenylalanine is not essential nor optimal, as the Trp, Leu, and Ile mutant are equally or more active than the wild-type component. In general, at neutral pH, the biological activities correlate well with the peptides' ability to interact with membrane lipids. Correspondingly, the permeabilization efficiencies of biological and model membranes of the various derivatives were found to be closely related to their ability to adopt alpha-helical structures, and follows the order 5L>5W>5I>5Y>wild type. The results suggest an important role for the Phe residues, in providing the peptide in a balanced manner with sufficient hydrophobicity, and therewith membrane affinity, as well as conformational flexibility.     

The species-specific mode of action of the antimicrobial peptide subtilosin against Listeria monocytogenes Scott A

Aims: To elucidate the molecular mechanism of action of the antimicrobial peptide subtilosin against the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes Scott A. Methods and Results: Subtilosin was purified from a culture of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The minimal inhibitory concentration of subtilosin against L. monocytogenes Scott A was determined by broth microdilution method. The effect of subtilosin on the transmembrane electrical potential (ΔΨ) and pH gradient (ΔpH), and its ability to induce efflux of intracellular ATP, was investigated. Subtilosin fully inhibited L. monocytogenes growth at a concentration of 19 μg ml^?1. Subtilosin caused a partial depletion of the ΔΨ and had a similar minor effect on the ΔpH. There was no significant efflux of intracellular ATP. Conclusion: Subtilosin likely acts upon L. monocytogenes Scott A by perturbing the lipid bilayer of the cellular membrane and causing intracellular damage, leading to eventual cell death. Subtilosin’s mode of action against L. monocytogenes Scott A differs from the one previously described for another human pathogen, Gardnerella vaginalis. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first report on the specific mode of action of subtilosin against L. monocytogenes and the first report of a bacteriocin with a species‐specific mode of action.     

Structure of the antimicrobial peptide tachystatin A

The solution structure of antimicrobial peptide tachystatin A from the Japanese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus) was determined by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and distance-restrained simulated annealing calculations. The correct pairs of disulfide bonds were also confirmed in this study. The obtained structure has a cysteine-stabilized triple-stranded beta-sheet as a dominant secondary structure and shows an amphiphilic folding observed in many membrane-interactive peptides. Interestingly, tachystatin A shares structural similarities with the calcium channel antagonist omega-agatoxin IVA isolated from spider toxin and mammalian defensins, and we predicted that omega-agatoxin IVA also have the antifungal activity. These structural comparisons and functional correspondences suggest that tachystatin A and omega-agatoxin IVA may exert the antimicrobial activity in a manner similar to defensins, and we have confirmed such activity using fungal culture assays. Furthermore, tachystatin A is a chitin-binding peptide, and omega-agatoxin IVA also showed chitin-binding activities in this study. Tachystatin A and omega-agatoxin IVA showed no structural homology with well known chitin-binding motifs, suggesting that their structures belong to a novel family of chitin-binding peptides. Comparison of their structures with those of cellulose-binding proteins indicated that Phe(9) of tachystatin A might be an essential residue for binding to chitin.     

Purification and primary structure of two isoforms of arenicin, a novel antimicrobial peptide from marine polychaeta Arenicola marina

Two novel 21-residue antimicrobial peptides, arenicin-1 and arenicin-2, exhibiting activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, were purified from coelomocytes of marine polychaeta Arenicola marina (lugworm) by preparative gel electrophoresis and RP-HPLC. Molecular masses (2758.3 and 2772.3 Da) and complete amino acid sequences (RWCVYAYVRVRGVLVRYRRCW and RWCVYAYVRIRGVLVRYRRCW) were determined for each isoform. Each arenicin has one disulfide bond (Cys3-Cys20). The total RNA was isolated from the lugworm coelomocytes, RT-PCR and cloning were performed, and cDNA was sequenced. A 202-residue preproarenicin contains a putative signal peptide (25 amino acids) and a long prodomain. Arenicins have no structure similarity to any previously identified antimicrobial peptides.     

Chitosan as antimicrobial agent: applications and mode of action

Chitosan, a hydrophilic biopolymer industrially obtained by N-deacetylation of chitin, can be applied as an antimicrobial agent. The current review of 129 references describes the biological activity of several chitosan derivatives and the modes of action that have been postulated in the literature. It highlights the applications of chitosan as an antimicrobial agent against fungi, bacteria, and viruses and as an elicitor of plant defense mechanisms.     

Immunocontinuum: perspectives in antimicrobial peptide mechanisms of action and resistance

Antimicrobial peptides are present in organisms spanning virtually every kingdom, and employ sophisticated mechanisms to exert rapid microbicidal action consistent with their key roles in host defense. Offsetting these mechanisms, some microbial pathogens have evolved complex countermeasures to neutralize exposure to and subvert mechanisms of antimicrobial peptides. The following discussion highlights recent advances that offer greater understanding of the mechanisms of action and resistance of antimicrobial peptides.     

The role of the central L- or D-Pro residue on structure and mode of action of a cell-selective alpha-helical IsCT-derived antimicrobial peptide

IsCT-P (ILKKIWKPIKKLF-NH2) is a novel alpha-helical antimicrobial peptide with bacterial cell selectivity designed from a scorpion-derived peptide IsCT. To investigate the role of L- or D-Pro kink on the structure and the mode of action of a short alpha-helical antimicrobial peptide with bacterial cell selectivity, we synthesized IsCT-p, in which D-Pro is substituted for L-Pro8 of IsCT-P. CD spectra revealed that IsCT-P adopted a typical alpha-helical structure in various membrane-mimicking conditions, whereas IsCT-p showed a random structure. This result indicated that D-Pro in the central position of a short alpha-helical peptide provides more remarkable structural flexibility than L-Pro. Despite its higher antibacterial activity, IsCT-p was much less effective at inducing dye leakage in the negatively charged liposome mimicking bacterial membrane and induced no or little membrane potential depolarization of Staphylococcus aureus. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that IsCT-p penetrated the bacterial cell membrane and accumulated in the cytoplasm, whereas IsCT-P remained outside or on the cell membrane. These results suggested that the major target of IsCT-P and IsCT-p is the bacterial membranes and intracellular components, respectively. Collectively, our results demonstrated that the central D-Pro kink in alpha-helical antimicrobial peptides plays an important role in penetrating bacterial membrane as well as bacterial cell selectivity.     

Design and mechanism of action of a novel bacteria-selective antimicrobial peptide from the cell-penetrating peptide Pep-1

Here, we report the successful design of a novel bacteria-selective antimicrobial peptide, Pep-1-K (KKTWWKTWWTKWSQPKKKRKV). Pep-1-K was designed by replacing Glu-2, Glu-6, and Glu-11 in the cell-penetrating peptide Pep-1 with Lys. Pep-1-K showed strong antibacterial activity against reference strains (MIC = 1-2 microM) of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as against clinical isolates (MIC = 1-8 microM) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In contrast, Pep-1-K did not cause hemolysis of human erythrocytes even at 200 microM. These results indicate that Pep-1-K may be a good candidate for antimicrobial drug development, especially as a topical agent against antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Tryptophan fluorescence studies indicated that the lack of hemolytic activity of Pep-1-K correlated with its weak ability to penetrate zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (10:1, w/w) vesicles, which mimic eukaryotic membranes. Furthermore, Pep-1-K caused little or no dye leakage from negatively charged phosphatidylethanolamine/phosphatidylglycerol (7:3, w/w) vesicles, which mimic bacterial membranes but had a potent ability to cause depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane potential of intact S. aureus cells. These results suggested that Pep-1-K kills microorganisms by not the membrane-disrupting mode but the formation of small channels that permit transit of ions or protons but not molecules as large as calcein.     

Selectivity in the mechanism of action of antimicrobial mastoparan peptide Polybia-MP1

Many potent antimicrobial peptides also present hemolytic activity, an undesired collateral effect for the therapeutic application. Unlike other mastoparan peptides, Polybia-MP1 (IDWKKLLDAAKQIL), obtained from the venom of the social wasp Polybia paulista, is highly selective of bacterial cells. The study of its mechanism of action demonstrated that it permeates vesicles at a greater rate of leakage on the anionic over the zwitterionic, impaired by the presence of cholesterol or cardiolipin; its lytic activity is characterized by a threshold peptide to lipid molar ratio that depends on the phospholipid composition of the vesicles. At these particular threshold concentrations, the apparent average pore number is distinctive between anionic and zwitterionic vesicles, suggesting that pores are similarly formed depending on the ionic character of the bilayer. To prospect the molecular reasons for the strengthened selectivity in Polybia-MP1 and its absence in Mastoparan-X, MD simulations were carried out. Both peptides presented amphipathic alpha-helical structures, as previously observed in Circular Dichroism spectra, with important differences in the extension and stability of the helix; their backbone solvation analysis also indicate a different profile, suggesting that the selectivity of Polybia-MP1 is a consequence of the distribution of the charged and polar residues along the peptide helix, and on how the solvent molecules orient themselves according to these electrostatic interactions. We suggest that the lack of hemolytic activity of Polybia-MP1 is due to the presence and position of Asp residues that enable the equilibrium of electrostatic interactions and favor the preference for the more hydrophilic environment.     

Linking dual mode of action of host defense antimicrobial peptide thanatin: Structures,lipopolysaccharide and LptAm binding of designed analogs

At present, antibiotics options to cure infections caused by drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens are highly inadequate. LPS outer membrane, proteins involved in LPS transport and biosynthesis pathways are vital targets. Thanatin, an insect derived 21-residue long antimicrobial peptide may be exploited for the development of effective antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria. As a mode of bacterial cell killing, thanatin disrupts LPS outer membrane and inhibits LPS transport by binding to the periplasmic protein LptA_m. Here, we report structure-activity correlation of thanatin and analogs for the purpose of rational design. These analogs of thanatin are investigated, by NMR, ITC and fluorescence, to correlate structure, antibacterial activity and binding with LPS and LptA_m, a truncated monomeric variant. Our results demonstrate that an analog thanatin M21F exhibits superior antibacterial activity. In LPS interaction analyses, thanatin M21F demonstrate high affinity binding to outer membrane LPS. The atomic resolution structure of thanatin M21F in LPS micelle reveals four stranded β-sheet structure in a dimeric topology whereby the sidechain of aromatic residues Y10, F21 sustained mutual packing at the interface. Strikingly, LptA_m binding affinity of thanatin M21F has been significantly increased with an estimated K_d ~ 0.73 nM vs 13 nM for thanatin. Further, atomic resolution structures and interactions of Ala based thanatin analogs define plausible correlations with antibacterial activity and LPS, LptA_m interactions. Taken together, the current work provides a frame-work for the designing of thanatin based potent antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of drug resistance Gram-negative bacteria.     

Solution structure and membrane interaction mode of an antimicrobial peptide gaegurin 4

We have applied NMR spectroscopy to determine the high-resolution structure of gaegurin 4, a 37-residue antimicrobial peptide from Rana rugosa, under varying hydrophobic conditions. Even in 100% H2O, gaegurin 4 contains a nascent turn near its C-terminal Rana box. Under a more hydrophobic condition it forms two amphipathic helices, one long encompassing residues 2-23 and the other consisting of residues 25-34, similar to what has been observed in cecropin A. Functional implication of the helix-breaking kink at Gly24 in gaegurin 4 was investigated by preparing several analogs. Based upon the current and previous results, we propose a novel seaanemone-like ion pore-forming model for gaegurin 4.     

The expanding scope of antimicrobial peptide structures and their modes of action

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an integral part of the innate immune system that protect a host from invading pathogenic bacteria. To help overcome the problem of antimicrobial resistance, cationic AMPs are currently being considered as potential alternatives for antibiotics. Although extremely variable in length, amino acid composition and secondary structure, all peptides can adopt a distinct membrane-bound amphipathic conformation. Recent studies demonstrate that they achieve their antimicrobial activity by disrupting various key cellular processes. Some peptides can even use multiple mechanisms. Moreover, several intact proteins or protein fragments are now being shown to have inherent antimicrobial activity. A better understanding of the structure-activity relationships of AMPs is required to facilitate the rational design of novel antimicrobial agents.     

Structure and mode of action of a mosquitocidal holotoxin

The crystal structure of the full mosquitocidal toxin from Bacillus sphaericus (MTX_holo) has been determined at 2.5 Å resolution by the molecular replacement method. The resulting structure revealed essentially the complete chain consisting of four ricin B-type domains curling around the catalytic domain in a hedgehog-like assembly. As the structure was virtually identical in three different crystal packings, it is probably not affected by packing contacts. The structure of MTX_holo explains earlier autoinhibition data. An analysis of published complexes comprising ricin B-type lectin domains and sugar molecules shows that the general construction principle applies to all four lectin domains of MTX_holo, indicating 12 putative sugar-binding sites. These sites are sequence-related to those of the cytotoxin pierisin from cabbage butterfly, which are known to bind glycolipids. It seems therefore likely that MTX_holo also binds glycolipids. The seven contact interfaces between the five domains are predominantly polar and not stronger than common crystal contacts so that in an appropriate environment, the multidomain structure would likely uncurl into a string of single domains. The structure of the isolated catalytic domain plus an extended linker was established earlier in three crystal packings, two of which showed a peculiar association around a 7-fold axis. The catalytic domain of the reported MTX_holo closely resembles all three published structures, except one with an appreciable deviation of the 40 N-terminal residues. A comparison of all structures suggests a possible scenario for the translocation of the toxin into the cytosol.