Design of novel peptide analogs with potent fungicidal activity,based on PMAP-23 antimicrobial peptide isolated from porcine myeloid

PMAP-23 is a 23-mer peptide derived from porcine myeloid. To develop novel antifungal peptides useful as therapeutic drugs, it would require a strong fungicidal activity against pathogenic fungal cells. To this goal, several analogs, with amino acid substitutions, were designed to increase the net hydrophobicity by Trp (W)-substitution at positions 10, 13, or 14 at the hydrophilic face of PMAP-23 without changing the hydrophobic helical face. The Trp (W)-substitution (P6) showed an enhanced fungicidal and antitumor activities, with the fungicidal activity inhibited by salts and the respiratory inhibitor, NaN(3). The results suggested that the increase of hydrophobicity of the peptides correlated with fungicidal activity. The fungicidal effects of analog peptides were further investigated using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) as a membrane probe. In Candida albicans, the analog peptide (P6) exerted its fungicidal effect on the blastoconidia in 20% fetal bovine serum by disrupting the mycelial forms. Furthermore, P6 caused significant morphological changes, and these facts suggested that the fungicidal function of the novel analog peptide (P6) was by damaging the fungal cell membranes. Thus, this peptide may provide a useful template for designing novel antifungal peptides useful for the treatment of infectious diseases.     

Novel short antibacterial and antifungal peptides with low cytotoxicity: Efficacy and action mechanisms

Short antimicrobial peptides with nine and eleven residues were developed against several clinically important bacterial and fungal pathogens (specifically Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Fusarium solani). Twelve analogues of previously reported peptides BP76 (KKLFKKILKFL) and Pac-525 (KWRRWVRWI) were designed, synthesized, and tested for their antimicrobial activities. Two of our eleven amino acid peptides, P11-5 (GKLFKKILKIL) and P11-6 (KKLIKKILKIL), have very low MICs of 3.1-12.5 μg ml⁻¹ against all five pathogens. The MICs of these two peptides against S. aureus, C. albicans and F. solani are four to ten times lower than the corresponding MICs of the reference peptide BP76. P9-4 (KWRRWIRWL), our newly designed nine-amino acid analogue, also has particularly low MICs of 3.1-6.2 μg ml⁻¹ against four of the tested pathogens; these MICs are two to eight times lower than those reported for Pac-525 (6.2-50 μg ml⁻¹).These new peptides (P11-5, P11-6 and P9-4) also exhibit improved stability in the presence of salts, and have low cytotoxicity as shown by the hemolysis and MTT assays. From the results of field-emission scanning electron microscopy, membrane depolarization and dye-leakage assays, we propose that these peptides exert their action by disrupting membrane lipids. Molecular dynamics simulation studies confirm that P11-6 peptide maintains relatively stable helical structure and exerts more perturbation action on the order of acyl tail of lipid bilayer.     

An overview of antifungal peptides derived from insect

Fungi are not classified as plants or animals. They resemble plants in many ways but do not produce chlorophyll or make their own food photosynthetically like plants. Fungi are useful for the production of beer, bread, medicine, etc. More complex than viruses or bacteria; fungi can be destructive human pathogens responsible for various diseases in humans. Most people have a strong natural immunity against fungal infection. However, fungi can cause diseases when this immunity breaks down. In the last few years, fungal infection has increased strikingly and has been accompanied by a rise in the number of deaths of cancer patients, transplant recipients, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients owing to fungal infections. The growth rate of fungi is very slow and quite difficult to identify. A series of molecules with antifungal activity against different strains of fungi have been found in insects, which can be of great importance to tackle human diseases. Insects secrete such compounds, which can be peptides, as a part of their immune defense reactions. Active antifungal peptides developed by insects to rapidly eliminate infectious pathogens are considered a component of the defense munitions. This review focuses on naturally occurring antifungal peptides from insects and their challenges to be used as armaments against human diseases.     

Isolation and identification of antifungal peptides from Bacillus BH072, a novel bacterium isolated from honey

A bacterial strain BH072 isolated from a honey sample showed antifungal activity against mold. Based on morphological, biochemical, physiological tests, and analysis of 16S rDNA sequence, the strain was identified to be a new subspecies of Bacillus sp. It had a broad spectrum of antifungal activity against various mold, such as Aspergillus niger, Pythium, and Botrytis cinerea. Six pairs of antifungal genes primers were designed and synthesized, and ituA, hag, tasA genes were detected by PCR analysis. The remarkable antifungal activity could be associated with the co-production of these three peptides. One of them was purified by 30–40% ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and anion exchange chromatography on D201 resin. The purified peptide was estimated to be 35.615 kDa and identified to be flagellin by micrOTOF-Q II. By using methanol extraction, another substance was isolated from fermentation liquor, and determined to be iturin with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) method. The third possible peptide encoded by tasA was not isolated in this study. The culture liquor displayed antifungal activity in a wide pH range (5.0–9.0) and at 40–100 °C. The result of the present work suggested that Bacillus BH072 might be a bio-control bacterium of research value.     

昆虫抗真菌肽

随着对昆虫抗菌肽理论和应用研究的不断深入,已陆续发现了10多种昆虫抗真菌肽。文章就昆虫抗真菌肽的类型、结构和功能的关系、作用机理、应用等方面的新进展进行简要介绍和分析,为昆虫抗真菌肽的理论研究和发展新型抗生素等提供了必要的信息。     

Dual antifungal properties of cationic antimicrobial peptides polybia-MPI: Membrane integrity disruption and inhibition of biofilm formation

With the increasing emergence of resistant fungi, the discovery and development of novel antifungal therapeutics were urgently needed. Compared with conventional antibiotics, the limited propensity of AMPs to induce resistance in pathogens has attracted great interest. In the present study, the antifungal activity and its mechanism-of-action of polybia-MPI, a cationic peptide from the venom of Social wasp Polybia Paulista was investigated. We demonstrated that polybia-MPI could potently inhibit the growth of Candida albicans (C. albicans) and Candida glabrata (C. glabrata). The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of Polybia-MPI against cancer cells were much higher than the MICs against the tested C. albicans and C. glabrata cells, indicating that polybia-MPI had high selectivity between the fungal and mammalian cells. Our results also indicated that membrane disturbance mechanism was involved in the antifungal activity. Furthermore, polybia-MPI could inhibit the bio film forming of C. glabrata, which was frequently associated with clinically significant biofilm. These results suggest that polybia-MPI has great advantages in the development of antifungal agents.     

Antimicrobial activity of pleurocidin is retained in Plc-2, a C-terminal 12-amino acid fragment

An analysis of a series of five peptides composed of various portions of the pleurocidin (Plc) sequence identified a l2-amino acid fragment from the C-terminus of Plc, designated Plc-2, as the smallest fragment that retained a antimicrobial activity comparable to that of the parent compound. MIC tests in vitro with low-ionic-strength medium showed that Plc-2 has potent activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus but not against Enterococcus faecalis. The antifungal activity of the synthetic peptides against phytopathogenic fungi, such as Fusarium oxysporum, Colletotrichum sp., Aspergillus niger and Alternaria sp., also identified Plc-2 as a biologically active peptide. Microscopy studies of fluorescently stained fungi treated with Plc-2 demonstrated that cytoplasmic and nuclear membranes were compromised in all strains of phytopathogenic fungi tested. Together, these results identify Plc-2 as a potential antimicrobial agent with similar properties to its parent compound, pleurocidin. In addition, it demonstrated that the KHVGKAALTHYL residues are critical for the antimicrobial activity described for pleurocidin.     

Structural diversity of marine cyclic peptides and their molecular mechanisms for anticancer,antibacterial, antifungal,and other clinical applications

Many cyclic peptides and analogues derived from marine sources are known to possess biological properties, including anticancer, antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, anti-inflammation, anti-proliferative, anti-hypertensive, cytotoxic, and antibiotic properties. These compounds demonstrate different activities and modes of action according to their structure such as cyclic oligopeptide, cyclic lipopeptide, cyclic glycopeptide and cyclic depsipeptide. The recent advances in application of the above-mentioned cyclic peptides were reported in dolastatins, soblidotin, didemnin B, aplidine, salinosporamide A, kahalalide F and bryostatin 1 and they are currently in clinical trials. These cyclic peptides are possible novel drugs discovered and developed from marine origin. Literature data concerning the potential properties of marine cyclic peptides were reviewed here, and the structural diversity and biological activities of marine cyclic peptides are discussed in relation to the molecular mechanisms of these marine cyclic peptides.     

Dynamic membrane interactions of antibacterial and antifungal biomolecules,and amyloid peptides,revealed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

A variety of biomolecules acting on the cell membrane folds into a biologically active structure in the membrane environment. It is, therefore, important to determine the structures and dynamics of such biomolecules in a membrane environment. While several biophysical techniques are used to obtain low-resolution information, solid-state NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful means for determining the structure and dynamics of membrane bound biomolecules such as antibacterial biomolecules and amyloidogenic proteins; unlike X-ray crystallography and solution NMR spectroscopy, applications of solid-state NMR spectroscopy are not limited by non-crystalline, non-soluble nature or molecular size of membrane-associated biomolecules. This review article focuses on the applications of solid-state NMR techniques to study a few selected antibacterial and amyloid peptides. Solid-state NMR studies revealing the membrane inserted bent α-helical structure associated with the hemolytic activity of bee venom melittin and the chemical shift oscillation analysis used to determine the transmembrane structure (with α-helix and 3₁₀-helix in the N- and C-termini, respectively) of antibiotic peptide alamethicin are discussed in detail. Oligomerization of an amyloidogenic islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP, or also known as amylin) resulting from its aggregation in a membrane environment, molecular interactions of the antifungal natural product amphotericin B with ergosterol in lipid bilayers, and the mechanism of lipid raft formation by sphingomyelin studied using solid state NMR methods are also discussed in this review article. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Biophysical Exploration of Dynamical Ordering of Biomolecular Systems" edited by Dr. Koichi Kato.     

Parallel evaluation of antimicrobial peptides derived from the synthetic PAF26 and the human LL37

The antimicrobial hexapeptide PAF26 was de novo designed towards phytopathogenic fungi of agricultural importance. To analyze its clinical potential, the activity of PAF26 has been determined against several microorganisms of clinical relevance including Staphylococcus, Candida, and several dermatophytes. For comparison purposes, the peptides KR20 and KI26 derived from the human cathelicidin LL37 were selected and fungal pathogens of agronomic relevance were included. PAF26 has similar antimicrobial activity in vitro compared to KR20 despite their different lengths and amino acid compositions. Moreover, neither peptide is lytic to human erythrocytes or keratinocytes. The hybrid peptide PAF26:KR20 showed better antimicrobial properties than the original peptides against most of the pathogens tested. The structural properties of PAF26:KR20 compared to related 26-amino acid peptides support the idea that the increment in toxicity correlates with positive charge and hydrophobicity. However, the degree of peptide helicity was not a predictor of antimicrobial activity.     

三条新颖短肽筛选及抑菌作用的初报

[目的]为了发现新的农作物病原菌抗菌肽,人工设计并构建了大容量短肽文库,从中筛选并合成96条短肽用于鉴定其对农作物病原菌的抑菌活性.[方法]采用琼脂扩散法,对靶标菌一棉花枯萎病菌(Fusarium f.sp.vasinfecum)、棉花红腐病菌(Fusarium moniliforme)、小麦根腐病菌(Bipolaris sorokiniana)和马铃薯早疫病菌(Alternaria solani)进行抑菌初筛,并测定了有抗菌作用短肽的最小抑菌浓度和抑菌持久性.[结果]得到了A6、D4和F10对上述四种病原真菌抑菌效果较强,抑菌时间较长的抗菌肽,通过与抗菌肽数据库氨基酸序列对比,未见这3条抗菌肽的同源序列.[结论]研制的3条短肽属于新颖抗菌肽,为防治农作物真菌病害提供了新的基因资源.     

Structure and dynamics of the antifungal molecules Syringotoxin-B and Syringopeptin-25A from molecular dynamics simulation

The phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae produces toxic cyclic lipodepsipeptides (CLPs): nona-peptides and syringopeptins. All CLPs inhibit the growth of many fungal species, including human pathogens, although different fungi display different degrees of sensitivity. The best studied CLPs are Syringomycin-E (SR-E), Syringotoxin-B (ST-B) and Syringopeptin-25A (SP-25A). Their biological activity is affected by membrane composition and their structural differences. We previously (Matyus et al. in Eur Biophys J 35:459–467, 2006) reported the molecular features and structural preferences of SR-E in water and octane environments. Here we investigate in atomic detail the molecular features of the two other main CLP components, ST-B and SP-25A, in water and octane by 200 ns molecular dynamics simulations (MD), using distance restraints derived from NMR NOE data (Ballio et al. in Eur J Biochem 234:747–758, 1995). We have obtained three-dimensional models of ST-B and SP-25A CLPs in different environments. These models can now be used as a basis to investigate the interactions of ST-B and SP-25A with lipid membranes an important further step towards a better understanding of the antifungal and antibacterial activity of these peptides. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Molecular scaffold of a new pokeweed antifungal peptide deduced by H nuclear magnetic resonance

The antifungal peptide from seeds of Phytolacca Americana (Pokeweed), designated PAFP-S hereinafter, is a recently found cationic peptide which consists of 38 amino acid residues and exihibites a broad spectrum of antifungal activity, including inhibition of certain saprophytic fungi and some plant pathogens. The secondary structure and three cysteine pairings have been investigated by ¹H NMR analysis. The results show that the molecular scaffold of PAFP-S features a triple-stranded antiparallel β-sheet knotted by a typical disulfide bridge motif, which characterizes the knottin fold. CD spectroscopy indicates a high stability of the molecule in solution. Therefore, PAFP-S should be a new member of the knottin structural family and the first antifungal peptide that adopts the knottin-like fold.     

昆虫抗菌肽和抗真菌肽结构与功能的关系及分子设计

在对GenBank和EMBL数据库中登录的昆虫抗微生物肽 (antimicrobial peptide, AMP), 即昆虫抗菌肽 (antibacterial peptide) 和抗真菌肽 (antifungal peptide, AFP) 进行归类整理的基础上,对天蚕素族(cecropins )抗菌肽结构与功能的关系及人工改造的分子设计策略,特别是对目前新发现的一些昆虫抗真菌肽的已知结构与功能关系的研究进展、存在问题等进行了简要介绍和分析,为从事昆虫抗微生物肽的理论研究和发展新型抗生素药物提供了必要的信息。     

Gene expression specificity of the mussel antifungal mytimycin (MytM)

We previously reported the nucleotide sequences and diversity of mytimycin (MytM) from the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis. Using real-time PCR (q-PCR), we observed that the MytM gene was mainly expressed in circulating hemocytes and to a less extent in the mantle. In vivo challenge with bacteria or with the yeast, Candida albicans, did not increase the expression as measured by q-PCR in hemocytes. By contrast, injection of the filamentous fungus, Fusarium oxysporum, induced a sudden and strong increase of expression at 9h p.i. (stimulation index of 25.7 ± 2.1). Optimum stimulating dose was 10⁴ spores of F. oxysporum per mussel. In the same samples, AMP mytilin and myticin showed no stimulation. Consequently, we hypothesized the existence of 2 different signal transduction pathways, one activated by bacteria and yeast, the other triggered by filamentous fungi. A second challenge performed with F. oxysporum 24 h after the first challenge induced an increase of MytM gene expression (stimulation index of 3.5 ± 1.7). However, this second increase was significantly lower than the first, suggesting less efficient response rather than significant protection.     

Effect of a novel antifungal peptide P852 on cell morphology and membrane permeability of Fusarium oxysporum

P852, a novel cyclic peptide isolated from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens L-H15, showed potent antifungal activity against several major plant fungal pathogens including Fusarium oxysporum. To elucidate the antifungal mechanism, the impact of P852 on the cell morphology and membrane permeabilization of F. oxysporum was studied. By applying electron microscopy and fluorescent techniques, we showed that P852 treatment caused the morphological change of F. oxysporum cells and disrupted its cell structure, including formation of blebs, broken hyphae, deformation of membrane, intracellular organization disruption, pore formation, and cell lysis. Our findings provide insights into the mode of action of P852, which laying a foundation to develop P852 as a novel antifungal agent to control plant fungal pathogens.     

Synthetically modified l-histidine-rich peptidomimetics exhibit potent activity against Cryptococcus neoformans

We describe the synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of structurally new peptidomimetics, rich in synthetically modified l-histidine. Two series of tripeptidomimetics were synthesized by varying lipophilicity at the C-2 position of l-histidine and at the N- and C-terminus. The data indicates that peptides (5f, 6f, 9f and 10f) possessing highly lipophilic adamantan-1-yl group displayed strong inhibition of Cryptococcus neoformans. Peptide 6f is the most potent of all with IC₅₀ and MFC values of 0.60 and 0.63 μg/mL, respectively, compared to the commercial drug amphotericin B (IC₅₀ = 0.69 and MFC = 1.25 μg/mL). The selectivity of these peptides to microbial pathogen was examined by a tryptophan fluorescence quenching study and transmission electron microscopy. These studies indicate that the peptides plausibly interact with the mimic membrane of pathogen by direct insertion, and results in disruption of membrane of pathogen.     

家蝇幼虫血淋巴中抗真菌肽的诱导方法比较及抗真菌活性

以未诱导组作为空白对照研究比较真菌诱导、超声诱导和热诱导家蝇Musca domestica 幼虫血淋巴初提液的抗真菌肽效果,比较各种诱导方法诱导后的幼虫存活率;用凝胶层析法和高效液相分离纯化热诱导家蝇3龄幼虫抗真菌肽,检测其抗白假丝酵母菌Candida albicans和新生隐球菌Cryptococcus neoformans活性;SDS-PAGE分析抗真菌肽的蛋白分子量范围。结果表明：3种诱导方法诱导后家蝇幼虫均产生具有明显抗真菌作用的抗真菌肽,其初提液抑菌圈大小没有明显差别;真菌诱导组和热诱导组幼虫存活率低于对照组,而超声诱导组与对照组相比则无明显差别。经分离纯化后,抗真菌肽仍具有较好的抗真菌活性;SDS-PAGE分析表明该抗真菌肽有效成分的蛋白分子量在14.4 kD以下。结果提示热诱导家蝇幼虫产生抗真菌肽是一种方便、有效的诱导方式。     

General aspects of peptide selectivity towards lipid bilayers and cell membranes studied by variation of the structural parameters of amphipathic helical model peptides

Model compounds of modified hydrophobicity (H), hydrophobic moment (μ) and angle subtended by charged residues (Φ) were synthesized to define the general roles of structural motifs of cationic helical peptides for membrane activity and selectivity. The peptide sets were based on a highly hydrophobic, non-selective KLA model peptide with high antimicrobial and hemolytic activity. Variation of the investigated parameters was found to be a suitable method for modifying peptide selectivity towards either neutral or highly negatively charged lipid bilayers. H and μ influenced selectivity preferentially via modification of activity on 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) bilayers, while the size of the polar/hydrophobic angle affected the activity against 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidyl-DL-glycerol (POPG). The influence of the parameters on the activity determining step was modest in both lipid systems and the activity profiles were the result of the parameters’ influence on the second less pronounced permeabilization step. Thus, the activity towards POPC vesicles was determined by the high permeabilizing efficiency, however, changes in the structural parameters preferentially influenced the relatively moderate affinity. In contrast, intensive peptide accumulation via electrostatic interactions was sufficient for the destabilization of highly negatively charged POPG lipid membranes, but changes in the activity profile, as revealed by the modification of Φ, seem to be preferentially caused by variation of the low permeabilizing efficiency. The parameters proved very effective also in modifying antimicrobial and hemolytic activity. However, their influence on cell selectivity was limited. A threshold value of hydrophobicity seems to exist which restricted the activity modifying potential of μ and Φ on both lipid bilayers and cell membranes.