Peptidotriazoles with antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal plant pathogens

We designed and prepared peptidotriazoles based on the antimicrobial peptide BP100 (LysLysLeuPheLysLysIleLeuLysTyrLeu-NH(2)) by introducing a triazole ring in the peptide backbone or onto the side chain of a selected residue. These compounds were screened for their in vitro growth inhibition of bacterial and fungal phytopathogens, and for their cytotoxic effects on eukaryotic cells and tobacco leaves. Their proteolytic susceptibility was also analyzed. The antibacterial activity and the hemolysis were influenced by the amino acid that was modified with the triazole as well as by the absence of presence of a substituent in this heterocyclic ring. We identified sequences active against the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria, Erwinia amylovora, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (MIC of 1.6-12.5 μM), and against the fungi Fusarium oxysporum (MIC<6.2-12.5 μM) with low hemolytic activity (0-23% at 50 μM), high stability to protease digestion and no phytotoxicity. These peptidotriazoles constitute good candidates to design new antimicrobial agents.     

Effects of the synthetic coprisin analog peptide, CopA3 in pathogenic microorganisms and mammalian cancer cells

A synthetic coprisin analog peptide, 9-mer dimer CopA3 (CopA3) was designed based on a defensin-like peptide, Coprisin, isolated from the bacteria-immunized dung beetle Copris tripartitus. Here, CopA3 was investigated for its antimicrobial activity and cancer cell growth inhibition. CopA3 showed antimicrobial activities against various pathogenic bacteria and yeast fungus with MIC values in 2~32 μM ranges, and inhibited the cell viabilities of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer cells, except MIAPaca2, Hep3B, and HepG2 cells, in a dose-dependent manner. The average IC(50) values of CopA3 against pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer cells were 61.7 μM and 67.8 μM, respectively. The results indicate that CopA3 has potential in the treatments of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancers as well as microorganism infection disease.     

Antimicrobial 1,3,4-trisubstituted-1,2,3-triazolium salts

A series of 1,3,4-trisubstituted-1,2,3-triazolium bromide salts were prepared by efficient two-step sequences of azide-alkyne cycloaddition and benzylic substitution. The antimicrobial activity of each triazolium salt and correlating triazole precursor was evaluated using a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. MIC activities as low as 1?µM against Gram-positive bacteria, 8?µM against Gram-negative bacteria and 4?µM against fungi were observed for salt analogs, while neutral triazoles were inactive. Analogs representing selective and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity were each identified. MIC structure-activity relationships observed within this motif indicate that the presence of cationic charge and balance of overall hydrophobicity are strongly impactful, while benzyl vs. aryl substituent identity and variation of substituent regiochemistry are not.     

Antimicrobial activity of LFchimera synthetic peptide against plant pathogenic bacteria

The present study was designed to evaluate potential antibacterial activities of synthetic LFchimera against five plant pathogenic bacteria such as Ralstonia solanacearum, Erwinia amylovora, Xanthomonas campestris, Pseudomonas syringae and Pectobacterium carotovorum. The agar disc-diffusion method with different concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 μM) of peptide was used to study the antibacterial activity of LFchimera against bacteria. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the LFchimera peptide were tested using serial dilution method at concentration ranging from 0 to 10 μM. The Results from agar disc-diffusion method revealed that LFchimera was effective against all bacterial strain in a dose-dependent manner. LFchimera showed highest activity in 0.8 μM which was significant compared to the standard antibiotic. LFchimera pepetide showed low MIC values (4 μM) against all tested bacteria. LFchimera peptide was found to show antibacterial activity against important phytopathogenic bacteria and can improve the potential of an antimicrobial peptide in plant disease management.     

Host-defense peptides from skin secretions of the tetraploid frogs Xenopus petersii and Xenopus pygmaeus, and the octoploid frog Xenopus lenduensis (Pipidae)

Peptidomic analysis of norepinephrine-stimulated skin secretions led to the identification of host-defense peptides belonging to the magainin, peptide glycine-leucine-amide (PGLa), and caerulein precursor fragment (CPF) families from the tetraploid frogs, Xenopus petersii (Peters' clawed frog) and Xenopus pygmaeus (Bouchia clawed frog), and the octoploid frog Xenopus lenduensis (Lendu Plateau clawed frog). Xenopsin-precursor fragment (XPF) peptides were not detected. The primary structures of the antimicrobial peptides from X. petersii demonstrate a close, but not conspecific relationship, with Xenopus laevis whereas the X. pygmaeus peptides show appreciable variation from previously characterized orthologs from other Xenopus species. Polyploidization events within the Xenopodinae (Silurana+Xenopus) are associated with extensive gene silencing (nonfunctionization) but unexpectedly the full complement of four PGLa paralogs were isolated from X. lenduendis secretions. Consistent with previous data, the CPF peptides showed the highest growth-inhibitory activity against bacteria with CPF-PG1 (GFGSLLGKALKIGTNLL.NH(2)) from X. pygmaeus combining high antimicrobial potency against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC=6 μM) with relatively low hemolytic activity (LC(50)=145 μM).     

A novel cysteine‐free venom peptide with strong antimicrobial activity against antibiotics‐resistant pathogens from the scorpion Opistophthalmus glabrifrons

Antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, such as methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin‐resistant Enterococcus, pose serious threat to human health. The outbreak of antibiotic‐resistant pathogens in recent years emphasizes once again the urgent need for the development of new antimicrobial agents. Here, we discovered a novel antimicrobial peptide from the scorpion Opistophthalmus glabrifrons, which was referred to as Opisin. Opisin consists of 19 amino acid residues without disulfide bridges. It is a cationic, amphipathic, and α‐helical molecule. Protein sequence homology search revealed that Opisin shares 42.1–5.3% sequence identities to the 17/18‐mer antimicrobial peptides from scorpions. Antimicrobial assay showed that Opisin is able to potently inhibit the growth of the tested Gram‐positive bacteria with the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 4.0–10.0 μM; in contrast, it possesses much lower activity against the tested Gram‐negative bacteria and a fungus. It is interesting to see that Opisin is able to strongly inhibit the growth of methicillin‐ and vancomycin‐resistant pathogens with the MICs ranging from 2.0 to 4.0 μM and from 4.0 to 6.0 μM, respectively. We found that at a concentration of 5 × MIC, Opisin completely killed all the cultured methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. These results suggest that Opisin is a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of the antibiotic‐resistant bacterial infections. Copyright © 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure-function study of cathelicidin-derived bovine antimicrobial peptide BMAP-28: Design of its cell-selective analogs by amino acid substitutions in the heptad repeat sequences

Although BMAP-28 is a potent cathelicidin-derived bovine antimicrobial peptide, its cytotoxic activity against the human and other mammalian cells is of concern for converting it into a novel antimicrobial drug. We have identified a short leucine and isoleucine zipper sequences at the N- and C-terminals of BMAP-28, respectively. To understand the possible role of these structural elements in BMAP-28, a number of alanine-substituted analogs were designed, synthesized and characterized along with the wild-type peptide. The substitution of amino acids at single or multiple ‘a’ position(s) of these structural motifs by alanine showed significant effects on the cytotoxic activity of the molecule on the human red blood cells (hRBCs) and 3T3 cells without showing much effects on their MIC values against the selected bacteria. BMAP-28 and all its analogs depolarized the Escherichia coli cells with almost equal efficacy. In contrast, the alanine-substituted analogs of BMAP-28 depolarized hRBCs much less efficiently than the parent molecule. Results further showed that BMAP-28 assembled appreciably onto the live E. coli and hRBC. However, the selected less toxic analogs of BMAP-28 although assembled as good as the parent molecule onto the live E. coli cells, their assembly onto the live mammalian hRBCs was much weaker as compared to that of the wild-type molecule. Looking at the remarkable similarity with the data presented in our previous work on melittin, it appears that probably the heptad repeat sequence possesses a general role in maintaining the cytotoxicity of the antimicrobial peptides against the mammalian cells and assembly therein.     

A novel cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide from the mucus of the snail of Achatina fulica

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the innate immunity. Many antimicrobial peptides have been found from marine mollusks. Little information about AMPs of mollusks living on land is available. A novel cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide (mytimacin-AF) belonging to the peptide family of mytimacins was purified and characterized from the mucus of the snail of Achatina fulica. Its cDNA was also cloned from the cDNA library. Mytimacin-AF is composed of 80 amino acid residues including 10 cysteines. Mytimacin-AF showed potent antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and the fungus Candida albicans. Among tested microorganisms, it exerted strongest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with a minimal peptide concentration (MIC) of 1.9 μg/ml. Mytimacin-AF had little hemolytic activity against human blood red cells. The current work confirmed the presence of mytimacin-like antimicrobial peptide in land-living mollusks.     

利用精氨酸和缬氨酸设计新型α-螺旋抗菌肽

摘要：【目的】抗菌肽是生命体的自身免疫系统的重要组成部分。其中两性的α-螺旋抗菌肽在抗菌肽家族中又占有重要的地位,发挥着重要的作用。为了得到具有更高抗菌活性同时具有很低细胞毒性的抗菌肽,根据α-螺旋二级结构衍生出来的螺旋轮模型,设计了一条在疏水一侧含有8个缬氨酸和亲水一侧含有5个精氨酸的新型16残基抗菌肽。【方法】测定了设计得到的新型抗菌肽的最小抑菌浓度、对于红细胞和哺乳动物肾细胞的细胞毒性以及杀菌动力学。 【结果】抗菌活性检测表明,新型抗菌肽VGR16显示了强并快速的杀菌作用,其最小抑菌浓度在16－64     

Molecular characterization of a novel hepcidin (HepcD) from Camelus dromedarius. Synthetic peptide forms exhibit antibacterial activity

Hepcidin is a cysteine‐rich peptide widely characterized in immunological processes and antimicrobial activity in several vertebrate species. Obviously, this hormone plays a central role in the regulation of systemic iron homeostasis. However, its role in camelids' immune response and whether it is involved in antibacterial immunity have not yet been proven. In this study, we characterized the Arabian camel hepcidin nucleotide sequence with an open reading frame of 252 bp encoding an 83‐amino acid preprohepcidin peptide. Eight cysteine key residues conserved in all mammalian hepcidin sequences were identified. The model structure analysis of hepcidin‐25 peptide showed a high homology structure and sequence identity to the human hepcidin. Two different hepcidin‐25 analogs manually synthesized by SPPS shared significant cytotoxic capacity toward the Gram‐negative bacterium Escherichia coli American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 8739 as well as the Gram‐positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11779 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 in vitro. The three disulfide bridges hepcidin analog demonstrated bactericidal activity, against B. subtilis ATCC 11779 and S. aureus ATCC 6538 strains, at the concentration of 15 μM (50 µg/ml) or above at pH 6.2. This result correlates with the revealed structural features suggesting that camel hepcidin is proposed to be involved in antibacterial process of innate immune response. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Bromotyrosine Derivative Ianthelline Isolated from the Arctic Marine Sponge Stryphnus fortis Inhibits Marine Micro- and Macrobiofouling

The inhibition of marine biofouling by the bromotyrosine derivative ianthelline, isolated from the Arctic marine sponge Stryphnus fortis, is described. All major stages of the fouling process are investigated. The effect of ianthelline on adhesion and growth of marine bacteria and microalgae is tested to investigate its influence on the initial microfouling process comparing with the known marine antifoulant barettin as a reference. Macrofouling is studied via barnacle (Balanus improvisus) settlement assays and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) phenoloxidase inhibition. Ianthelline is shown to inhibit both marine micro- and macrofoulers with a pronounced effect on marine bacteria (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values 0.1–10 μg/mL) and barnacle larval settlement (IC₅₀?=?3.0 μg/mL). Moderate effects are recorded on M. edulis (IC₅₀?=?45.2 μg/mL) and microalgae, where growth is more affected than surface adhesion. The effect of ianthelline is also investigated against human pathogenic bacteria. Ianthelline displayed low micromolar MIC values against several bacterial strains, both Gram positive and Gram negative, down to 2.5 μg/mL. In summary, the effect of ianthelline on 20 different representative marine antifouling organisms and seven human pathogenic bacterial strains is presented.     

High-throughput generation of small antibacterial peptides with improved activity

Cationic antimicrobial peptides are able to kill a broad variety of Gram-negative and Gram positive bacteria and thus are good candidates for a new generation of antibiotics to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria. Here we describe a high-throughput method to screen large numbers of peptides for improved antimicrobial activity. The method relies on peptide synthesis on a cellulose support and a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain that constitutively expresses bacterial luciferase. A complete substitution library of 12-amino-acid peptides based on a linearized variant (RLARIVVIRVAR-NH(2)) of the bovine peptide bactenecin was screened and used to determine which substitutions at each position of the peptide chain improved activity. By combining the most favorable substitutions, we designed optimized 12-mer peptides showing broad spectrum activities with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) as low as 0.5 microg/ml against Escherichia coli. Similarly, we generated an 8-mer substituted peptide that showed broad spectrum activity, with an MIC of 2 microg/ml, against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Molecular properties prediction and synthesis of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole analogues as potent antimicrobial and antitubercular agents

In the present investigation, a series of 1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-4-{[(5-aryl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methyl]amino}-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one were subjected to molecular properties prediction, drug-likeness by Molinspiration (Molinspiration, 2008) and MolSoft (MolSoft, 2007) software, lipophilicity and solubility parameters using ALOGPS 2.1 program. The compounds followed the Lipinski ‘Rule of five’ were synthesized for antimicrobial and antitubercular screening as oral bioavailable drugs/leads. Maximum drug-likeness model score (0.95) was found for compound, 4a. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and mass spectral analysis followed by antimicrobial and antimycobacterial screening. Among the title compounds, compound 4d showed pronounced activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv and isoniazid resistant M. tuberculosis (INHR-TB) with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) 0.78 μM and 1.52 μM, respectively. The compound, 4a showed maximum activity against all bacterial strains with MIC 4–8 μg/mL comparable to standard drug ciprofloxacin, while the compounds, 4e and 4k showed maximum antifungal activity with MIC 8–16 μg/mL less active than standard drug fluconazole.     

Composition,Antibiofilm, and Antibacterial Potential of Volatile Oils from Geopropolis of Different Stingless Bees’ Species**

We aimed to characterize and investigate the antibacterial potential of the native stingless bees geopropolis volatile oils (VO) for the search of potentially new bioactive compounds. Geopropolis samples from Melipona bicolor schencki, M. compressipes manaosensis, M. fasciculata, M. quadrifasciata, M. marginata and M. seminigra merrillae were collected from hives in South Brazil. VO were obtained by hydrodistillation and characterised by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Antimicrobial activity was assessed by microplate dilution method. The lowest MIC against cell walled bacteria was 219±0 μg mL⁻¹ from M. quadrifasciata geopropolis VO with Staphylococcus aureus. The M. b. schencki geopropolis VO minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) was 424±0 μg mL⁻¹ against all the mycoplasma strains evaluated. Fractionation resulted in the reduction of 50 % of the MIC value from the original oil. However, its compounds’ synergism seems to be essential to this activity. Antibiofilm assays demonstrated 15.25 % eradication activity and 13.20 % inhibition of biofilm formation after 24 h for one subfraction at 2× its MIC as the best results found. This may be one of the essential mechanisms by which geopropolis VOs perform their antimicrobial activity.     

Designing the antimicrobial peptide with centrosymmetric and amphipathic characterizations for improving antimicrobial activity

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are becoming a serious health issue and will cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050. As a result, the development of new antimicrobial agents is urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are found in the innate immune systems of various organisms to effectively fend off invading pathogens. In this study, we designed a series of AMPs (THL-2-1 to THL-2-9) with centrosymmetric and amphipathic properties, through substituting different amino acids on the hydrophobic side and at the centrosymmetric position to improve their antimicrobial activity. The results showed that leucine as a residue on the hydrophobic side of the peptide could enhance its antimicrobial activity and that glutamic acid as a centrosymmetric residue could increase the salt resistance of the peptide. Thus, the THL-2-3 peptide (KRLLRELKRLL-NH₂) showed the greatest antimicrobial activity (MIC₉₀ of 16 μM) against Gram-negative bacteria and had the highest salt resistance and cell selectivity among all the designed peptides. In summary, the results of this study provide useful references for the design of AMPs to enhance antimicrobial activity.     

Membrane damage as first and DNA as the secondary target for anti‐candidal activity of antimicrobial peptide P7 derived from cell‐penetrating peptide ppTG20 against Candida albicans

P7, a peptide analogue derived from cell‐penetrating peptide ppTG20, possesses antibacterial and antitumor activities without significant hemolytic activity. In this study, we investigated the antifungal effect of P7 and its anti‐Candida acting mode in Candida albicans. P7 displayed antifungal activity against the reference C. albicans (MIC = 4 μM), Aspergilla niger (MIC = 32 μM), Aspergillus flavus (MIC = 8 μM), and Trichopyton rubrum (MIC = 16 μM). The effect of P7 on the C. albicans cell membrane was examined by investigating the calcein leakage from fungal membrane models made of egg yolk l ‐phosphatidylcholine/ergosterol (10 : 1, w/w) liposomes. P7 showed potent leakage effects against fungal liposomes similar to Melittin‐treated cells. C. albicans protoplast regeneration assay demonstrated that P7 interacted with the C. albicans plasma membrane. Flow cytometry of the plasma membrane potential and integrity of C. albicans showed that P7 caused 60.9 ± 1.8% depolarization of the membrane potential of intact C. albicans cells and caused 58.1 ± 3.2% C. albicans cell membrane damage. Confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that part of FITC‐P7 accumulated in the cytoplasm. DNA retardation analysis was also performed, which showed that P7 interacted with C. albicans genomic DNA after penetrating the cell membrane, completely inhibiting the migration of genomic DNA above the weight ratio (peptide : DNA) of 6. Our results indicated that the plasma membrane was the primary target, and DNA was the secondary intracellular target of the mode of action of P7 against C. albicans. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design,synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of benzoxazinone derivatives and open-ring analogues: Preliminary data and computational analysis

This study examines in depth benzoxazine nucleus for antimycobacterial property. We synthesized some benzoxazin-2-one and benzoxazin-3-one derivatives, which were tested for activity against a panel of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains, including H37Ra, H37Rv and some resistant strains. Several compounds displayed a high antimycobacterial activity and the three isoniazid analogue derivatives 8a-c exhibited a MIC range of 0.125–0.250 μg/mL (0.37–0.75 μM) against strain H37Ra, therefore lower than the isoniazid reference drug. Two benzoxazin-2-one derivatives, 1c and 5j, together with isoniazid-analogue compound 8a, also revealed low MIC values against resistant strains and proved highly selective for mycobacterial cells, compared to mammalian Vero cells. To predict whether molecule 8a is able to interact with the active site of InhA, we docked it into the crystal structure; indeed, during the molecular dynamic simulation the compound never left the protein pocket. The more active compounds were predicted for ADME properties and all proved to be potentially orally active in humans.     

Synthesis and antimycobacterial evaluation of N-substituted 3-aminopyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitriles

A series of 14 new compounds related to pyrazinamide were synthesized, characterized with analytical data and screened for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium kansasii and two types of Mycobacterium avium. The series comprised of N-substituted 3-aminopyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitriles derived from 3-chloropyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitrile by nucleophilic substitution of chlorine by various non-aromatic amines (alkylamines, cycloalkylamines and heterocyclic amines). Noteworthy antimycobacterial activity against M. tuberculosis was found among the alkylamino derivatives, for example, 3-(heptylamino)pyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitrile inhibited M. tuberculosis at MIC=51 μmol/L. 3-(Hexylamino)pyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitrile inhibited M. kansasii at MIC=218 μmol/L. Basic structure-activity relationships are discussed. A comparison between calculated and experimentally determined lipophilicity parameters within the series is included.