Design and characterization of short antimicrobial peptides using leucine zipper templates with selectivity towards microorganisms

Design of antimicrobial peptides with selective activity towards microorganisms is an important step towards the development of new antimicrobial agents. Leucine zipper sequence has been implicated in cytotoxic activity of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides; moreover, this motif has been utilized for the design of novel antimicrobial peptides with modulated cytotoxicity. To understand further the impact of substitution of amino acids at ‘a’ and/or ‘d’ position of a leucine zipper sequence of an antimicrobial peptides on its antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties four short peptides (14-residue) were designed on the basis of a leucine zipper sequence without or with replacement of leucine residues in its ‘a’ and ‘d’ positions with d-leucine or alanine or proline residue. The original short leucine zipper peptide (SLZP) and its d-leucine substituted analog, DLSA showed comparable activity against the tested Gram-positive and negative bacteria and the fungal strains. The alanine substituted analog (ASA) though showed appreciable activity against the tested bacteria, it showed to some extent lower activity against the tested fungi. However, the proline substituted analog (PSA) showed lower activity against the tested bacterial or fungal strains. Interestingly, DLSA, ASA and PSA showed significantly lower cytotoxicity than SLZP against both human red blood cells (hRBCs) and murine 3T3 cells. Cytotoxic and bactericidal properties of these peptides matched with peptide-induced damage/permeabilization of mammalian cells and bacteria or their mimetic lipid vesicles suggesting cell membrane could be the target of these peptides. As evidenced by tryptophan fluorescence and acrylamide quenching studies the peptides showed similarities either in interaction or in their localization within the bacterial membrane mimetic negatively charged lipid vesicles. Only SLZP showed localization inside the mammalian membrane mimetic zwitterionic lipid vesicles. The results show significant scope for designing antimicrobial agents with selectivity towards microorganisms by substituting leucine residues at ‘a’ and/or ‘d’ positions of a leucine zipper sequence of an antimicrobial peptide with different amino acids.     

Engineering of a linear inactive analog of human β‐defensin 4 to generate peptides with potent antimicrobial activity

Human β‐defensins (HBDs) are cationic antimicrobial peptides constrained by three disulfide bridges. They have diverse range of functions in the innate immune response. It is of interest to investigate whether linear analogs of defensins can be generated, which possess antimicrobial activity. In this study, we have designed linear peptides with potent antimicrobial activity from an inactive peptide spanning the N‐terminus of HBD4. Our results show that l ‐arginine to d ‐arginine substitution imparts considerable antimicrobial activity against both bacteria and Candida albicans. Increase in hydrophobicity by fatty acylation of the peptides with myristic acid further enhances their potency. In the presence of high concentrations of salt, antimicrobial activity of the myristoylated peptide with l ‐arginine is attenuated relatively to a lesser extent as compared with the linear active peptide with d ‐arginine. Substitution of cysteine with the hydrophobic helix‐promoting amino acid α‐aminoisobutyric acid favors candidacidal activity but not antibacterial activity. The mechanism of killing by d ‐arginine substituted unacylated analog involves transient interaction with the bacterial membrane followed by translocation into the cytoplasm without membrane permeabilization. Accumulation of peptides in the cytoplasm can affect various cellular processes that lead to cell death. However, the peptide causes membrane permeabilization in case of C. albicans. Myristoylation results in greater interaction of the peptide chain with the microbial cell surface and causes membrane permeabilization. Results described in the study demonstrate that it is possible to generate highly active linear analogs of defensins by selective introduction of d ‐amino acids and fatty acids, which could be attractive candidates for development as therapeutic agents. Copyright © 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amino acid sequences of two proline-rich bactenecins. Antimicrobial peptides of bovine neutrophils

Bactenecins are highly cationic polypeptides of the large granules of bovine neutrophils, exerting in vitro a potent antimicrobial activity. Two bactenecins, with an approximate molecular weight of 7000 and 5000, called Bac7 and Bac5, are characterized by a high content of proline (greater than 45%) and arginine (greater than 23%) residues. Their complete amino acid sequences were determined by automated Edman degradation combined, in the case of Bac5, with plasma desorption mass spectrometry. Bac7 comprises 59 residues and includes three tandem repeats of a tetradecamer characterized by several Pro-Arg-Pro triplets spaced by single hydrophobic amino acids. Resolution of the primary structure of Bac5 required fragmentation with N-bromosuccinimide as well as digestion of the obtained C-terminal fragment with carboxypeptidases P and Y directly in the mass spectrometer. Bac5 comprises 42 amino acid residues with a repeated motif of Arg-Pro-Pro triplets also alternating with single apolar residues.     

Carboxyl-terminal consensus Ser-Lys-Leu-related tripeptide of peroxisomal proteins functions in vitro as a minimal peroxisome-targeting signal.

The minimal sequence requirement for a peroxisome-targeting signal was investigated using an in vitro import system. Carboxyl-terminal sequences Ser-Lys-Leu (SKL) and Leu-Gln-Ser-Lys-Leu (LQSKL) of acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) directed to peroxisomes the fused proteins with import-incompetent forms of AOX and catalase that had been truncated, implying that the SKL tripeptide functions as a targeting signal. Elimination of the entire SKL sequence or deletion of any 1 or 2 amino acids in the sequence abolished the import activity of AOX. Substitution of alanine for serine did not affect the import activity. Topogenic activity was retained when lysine was mutated to either arginine or histidine, whereas mutation to glutamic acid completely abolished the activity. A synthetic peptide comprising the carboxyl-terminal 10 amino acid residues of AOX inhibited the import of the authentic AOX polypeptide, whereas other peptides in which SKL was mutated, deleted, or internally located were not effective. The uptake of AOX was little affected by the peptide with an amidated alpha-carboxyl group. These results strongly suggest that the carboxyl-terminal SKL motif sequence (Ser/Ala)-(Lys/Arg/His)-Leu functions as a topogenic signal in translocation of proteins into peroxisomes, requiring the whole tripeptide sequence with a free alpha-COOH group at the carboxyl terminus.     

Isolation and Sequences of Peptic Peptides,and the Complete Sequence of Ile Chain of Ricin D

Sixteen peptic peptides, which contain arginine(s) or lysine, were isolated from cyanogen bromide fragments CB I and CB II of Ile-chain. Sequence determination has been performed on most of these peptides to provide overlaps for the tryptic peptides. Thus, complete amino acid sequence of Ile-chain consisting of 265 amino acid residues was determined. Some structural characteristics of the protein are also discussed.     

Cyclization increases the antimicrobial activity and selectivity of arginine- and tryptophan-containing hexapeptides

Arginine- and tryptophan-rich motifs have been identified in antimicrobial peptides with various secondary structures. We synthesized a set of linear hexapeptides derived from the sequence AcRRWWRF-NH(2) by substitution of tryptophan (W) by tyrosine (Y) or naphthylalanine (Nal) and by replacement of arginine (R) by lysine (K) to investigate the role of cationic charge and aromatic residues in membrane activity and selectivity. A second set of corresponding head-to-tail cyclic analogues was prepared to analyze the role of conformational constraints. The biological activity of the linear peptides followed the order Nal- > W- > Y-containing compounds and slightly decreased upon R-K substitution. A pronounced activity-improving and bacterial selectivity-enhancing effect was found upon cyclization of the R- and W-bearing parent peptide, whereas the activity-modifying effect of cyclization of Y- and Nal-containing peptides was low. The analysis of the driving forces of peptide interaction with model membranes showed that the activities correlated with the partition coefficients and the depths of peptide insertion into neutral and negatively charged lipid bilayers. Spectroscopic studies, RP-HPLC, and titration calorimetry implied that the combination of cationic and aromatic amino acid composition and conformational rigidity afforded a membrane-active, amphipathic structure with a highly charged face opposed by a cluster of aromatic side chains. However, threshold values of low and high hydrophobicity seemed to exist beyond which the activity-enhancing effect of cyclization was negligible. The results suggest that cyclization of small peptides of an appropriate amino acid composition may serve as a promising strategy in the design of antimicrobial peptides.     

Identification and characterization of the putative fusion peptide of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus spike protein

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a newly identified member of the family Coronaviridae and poses a serious public health threat. Recent studies indicated that the SARS-CoV viral spike glycoprotein is a class I viral fusion protein. A fusion peptide present at the N-terminal region of class I viral fusion proteins is believed to initiate viral and cell membrane interactions and subsequent fusion. Although the SARS-CoV fusion protein heptad repeats have been well characterized, the fusion peptide has yet to be identified. Based on the conserved features of known viral fusion peptides and using Wimley and White interfacial hydrophobicity plots, we have identified two putative fusion peptides (SARS(WW-I) and SARS(WW-II)) at the N terminus of the SARS-CoV S2 subunit. Both peptides are hydrophobic and rich in alanine, glycine, and/or phenylalanine residues and contain a canonical fusion tripeptide along with a central proline residue. Only the SARS(WW-I) peptide strongly partitioned into the membranes of large unilamellar vesicles (LUV), adopting a beta-sheet structure. Likewise, only SARS(WW-I) induced the fusion of LUV and caused membrane leakage of vesicle contents at peptide/lipid ratios of 1:50 and 1:100, respectively. The activity of this synthetic peptide appeared to be dependent on its amino acid (aa) sequence, as scrambling the peptide rendered it unable to partition into LUV, assume a defined secondary structure, or induce both fusion and leakage of LUV. Based on the activity of SARS(WW-I), we propose that the hydrophobic stretch of 19 aa corresponding to residues 770 to 788 is a fusion peptide of the SARS-CoV S2 subunit.     

A method of mapping protein sumoylation sites by mass spectrometry using a modified small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO-1) and a computational program

Post-translational modification by small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO-1) is a highly conserved process from yeast to humans and plays important regulatory roles in many cellular processes. Sumoylation occurs at certain internal lysine residues of target proteins via an isopeptide bond linkage. Unlike ubiquitin whose carboxyl-terminal sequence is RGG, the tripeptide at the carboxyl terminus of SUMO is TGG. The presence of the arginine residue at the carboxyl terminus of ubiquitin allows tryptic digestion of ubiquitin conjugates to yield a signature peptide containing a diglycine remnant attached to the target lysine residue and rapid identification of the ubiquitination site by mass spectrometry. The absence of lysine or arginine residues in the carboxyl terminus of mammalian SUMO makes it difficult to apply this approach to mapping sumoylation sites. We performed Arg scanning mutagenesis by systematically substituting amino acid residues surrounding the diglycine motif and found that a SUMO variant terminated with RGG can be conjugated efficiently to its target protein under normal sumoylation conditions. We developed a Programmed Data Acquisition (PDA) mass spectrometric approach to map target sumoylation sites using this SUMO variant. A web-based computational program designed for efficient identification of the modified peptides is described.     

A genetic screen for suppressors of Escherichia coli Tat signal peptide mutations establishes a critical role for the second arginine within the twin-arginine motif

The Escherichia coli Tat protein export pathway transports folded proteins synthesized with N-terminal twin-arginine signal peptides. Twin-arginine signal sequences contain a conserved SRRxFLK "twin-arginine" amino acid sequence motif which is required for protein export by the Tat pathway. The E. coli trimethylamine N-oxide reductase (TorA) is a Tat-dependent periplasmic molybdoenzyme that facilitates anaerobic respiration with trimethylamine N-oxide as terminal electron acceptor. Here, we describe mutant strains constructed with modified TorA twin-arginine signal peptides. Substitution of the second arginine residue of the TorA signal peptide twin-arginine motif with either lysine or aspartate, or the simultaneous substitution of both arginines with lysine residues, completely abolished export. In each case, the now cytoplasmically localised TorA retained full enzymatic activity with the artificial electron donor benzyl viologen. However, the mutant strains were incapable of anaerobic growth with trimethylamine N-oxide and the non-fermentable carbon-source glycerol. The growth phenotype of the mutant strains was exploited in a genetic screen with the aim of identifying second-site suppressor mutations that allowed export of the modified TorA precursors.     

Cathelicidin-derived Trp/Pro-rich antimicrobial peptides with lysine peptoid residue (Nlys): therapeutic index and plausible mode of action.

Recently, we designed a novel cell-selective antimicrobial peptide (TPk) with intracellular mode of action from Pro --> Nlys (Lys peptoid residue) substitution in a noncell-selective cathelicidin-derived Trp/Pro-rich antimicrobial peptide, tritrpticin-amide (TP; VRRFPWWWPFLRR-NH(2)) (Biochemistry 2006; 45: 13007-13017). In this study, to elucidate the effect of Pro --> Nlys substitution on therapeutic index and mode of action of other noncell-selective cathelicidin-derived Trp/Pro-rich antimicrobial peptides and develop novel short antimicrobial peptides with high cell selectivity/therapeutic index, we synthesized Nlys-substituted antimicrobial peptides, TPk, STPk and INk, in which all proline residues of TP, symmetric TP-analogue (STP; KKFPWWWPFKK-NH(2)) and indolicidin (IN; ILPWKWPWWPWRR-NH(2)) were replaced by Nlys, respectively. Compared to parent Pro-containing peptides (TP, STP and IN), Nlys substituted peptides (TPk, STPk and Ink) had 4- to 26-fold higher cell selectivity/therapeutic index. Parent Pro-containing peptides induced a significant depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane of intact Staphylococcus aureus at their MIC, whereas Nlys-substituted antimicrobial peptides did not cause visible membrane depolarization at their MIC. These results suggest that the antibacterial action of Nlys-substituted peptides is probably not due to the disruption of bacterial cytoplasmic membranes but the inhibition of intracellular components. Taken together, our results showed that Pro --> Nlys substitution in other noncell-selective Trp/Pro-rich antimicrobial peptides such as STP and IN as well as TP can improve the cell selectivity/therapeutic index and change the mode of antibacterial action from membrane-disrupting to intracellular targeting. In conclusion, our findings suggested that Pro --> Nlys substitution in noncell-selective Trp/Pro-rich antimicrobial peptides is a promising method to develop cell-selective antimicrobial peptides with intracellular target mechanism.     

Mechanism of action and specificity of antimicrobial peptides designed based on buforin IIb

Buforin IIb-a synthetic analog of buforin II that contains a proline hinge between the two α-helices and a model α-helical sequence at the C-terminus (3× RLLR)-is a potent cell-penetrating antimicrobial peptide. To develop novel antimicrobial peptides with enhanced activities and specificity/therapeutic index, we designed several analogs (Buf III analogs) by substitutions of amino acids in the proline hinge region and two α-helices of buforin IIb, and examined their antimicrobial activity and mechanism of action. The substitution of hydrophobic residues ([F(6)] and [V(8)]) in the proline hinge region with other hydrophobic residues ([W(6)] and [I(8)]) did not affect antimicrobial activity, while the substitution of the first four amino acids RAGL with a model α-helical sequence increased the antimicrobial activity up to 2-fold. Like buforin IIb, Buf III analogs penetrated the bacterial cell membranes without significantly permeabilizing them and were accumulated inside Escherichia coli. Buf III analogs were shown to bind DNA in vitro and the DNA binding affinity of the peptides correlated linearly with their antimicrobial potency. Among the Buf III analogs, the therapeutic index of Buf IIIb and IIIc (RVVRQWPIG[RVVR](3) and KLLKQWPIG[KLLK](3), respectively) were improved 7-fold compared to that of buforin IIb. These results indicate that Buf III analogs appear to be promising candidates for future development as novel antimicrobial agents.     

Lysine can be replaced by histidine but not by arginine as the ER retrieval motif for type I membrane proteins

The OST48 subunit of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex is a type I membrane protein containing three lysines in its cytosolic domain. The two lysines in positions 3 and 5 from the C-terminus are able to direct protein localisation within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by COPI-mediated retrieval. Substitution of these lysines by arginine resulted in cell-surface expression of OST48, whereas ER residency was maintained when either Lys-5 or Lys-3 but not both was replaced with arginine. Localisation of OST48 was not affected by substitution of the two lysines by histidine, indicating that a His-Xaa-His sequence, in contrast to Arg-Xaa-Arg, contains ER-specific targeting information. These differences show that simple charge interactions are not sufficient for ER retention and that other structural factors also play a role. The His-Xaa-His sequence could represent a new and independent signal for directing ER localisation differing from both the arginine motif in type II proteins and the lysine motif in type I proteins. Our data do not exclude, however, that the histidine sequence simply mimics the lysine motif as a sorting signal, being recognised by and interacting with the same receptor subunit(s) in COP-I-coated vesicles. Conclusions arising from this assumption involving the conformation of lysine at the putative COP-I binding site and the failure of Arg-Xaa-Arg to mediate ER localisation for type I proteins are discussed.     

Substitution of the leucine zipper sequence in melittin with peptoid residues affects self-association, cell selectivity, and mode of action

Melittin (ME), a non-cell-selective antimicrobial peptide, contains the leucine zipper motif, wherein every seventh amino acid is leucine or isolucine. Here, we attempted to generate novel cell-selective peptides by substituting amino acids in the leucine zipper sequence of ME with peptoid residues. We generated a series of ME analogues by replacing Leu-6, Lue-13 and Ile-20 with Nala, Nleu, Nphe, or Nlys, and we examined their secondary structure, self-association activity, cell selectivity and mode of action. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the substitutions disrupt the α-helical structure of ME in micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate and on negatively charged and zwitterionic phospholipid vesicles. Substitution by Nleu, Nphe, or Nlys but not Nala disturbed the self-association in an aqueous environment, interaction with zwitterionic membranes, and toxicity to mammalian cells of ME but did not affect the interaction with negatively charged membranes or antibacterial activity. Notably, peptides with Nphe or Nlys substitution had the highest therapeutic indices, consistent with their lipid selectivity. In addition, all of peptoid residue-containing ME analogues had little or no ability to induce membrane disruption, membrane depolarization and lipid flip-flop. Taken together, our studies indicate that substitution of the leucine zipper motif in ME with peptoid residues increases its selectivity against bacterial cells by impairing self-association activity and changes its mode of antibacterial action from membrane-targeting mechanism to possible intracellular targeting mechanism. Furthermore, our ME analogues especially those with Nleu, Nphe, or Nlys substitutions, may be therapeutically useful antimicrobial peptides.     

Isolation and properties of bovine kidney aminopeptidase A]

Aminopeptidase A, which specifically hydrolyses N-terminal dicarbonic amino acid residues containing free alpha-amino groups, is isolated from bovine kidney. The enzyme is 500-fold purified and is homogenous under electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation. Aminopeptidase A has pH optimum of 7.5, it is activated with Ca2+ and inactivated with EDTA. Its molecular weight is 53000. The enzyme hydrolyses alpha-L-aspartyl-beta-naphtylamide and splits peptides having N-terminal glycine, lysine, arginine and alanine are hydrolyzed by the enzyme much slower. Aminopeptidase A does not attack alpha-L-alanyl-beta-naphtylamide, leucineamide, insulin, peptides with blocked N-terminal amino acid and peptides which have proline to be the second N-terminal amino acid.     

Role of amino acid residue 90 in bioactivity and receptor binding capacity of tumor necrosis factor mutants

We have previously produced two bioactive lysine-deficient mutants of TNF-alpha (mutTNF-K90R,-K90P) and found that these mutants have bioactivity superior to wild-type TNF (wtTNF). Because these mutants contained same amino acid except for amino acid 90, it is unclear which amino acid residue is optimal for showing bioactivity. We speculated that this amino acid position was exchangeable, and this amino acid substitution enabled the creation of lysine-deficient mutants with enhanced bioactivity. Therefore, we produced mutTNF-K90R variants (mutTNF-R90X), in which R90 was replaced with other amino acids, to assay their bioactivities and investigated the importance of amino acid position 90. As a result, mutTNF-R90X that replaced R90 with lysine, arginine and proline were bioactive, while other mutants were not bioactive. Moreover, these three mutants showed bioactivity as good as or better than wtTNF. R90 replaced with lysine or arginine had especially superior binding affinities. These results suggest that the amino acid position 90 in TNF-alpha is important for TNF-alpha bioactivity and could be altered to improve its bioactivity to generate a "super-agonist".     

Novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides use different antimicrobial mechanisms

The increase in multidrug resistant bacteria has sparked an interest in the development of novel antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides that operate by crossing the cell membrane may also have the potential to deliver drugs to intracellular targets. Buforin 2 (BF2) is an antimicrobial peptide that shares sequence identity with a fragment of histone subunit H2A and whose bactericidal mechanism depends on membrane translocation and DNA binding. Previously, novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides (HDAPs) were designed based on properties of BF2, and DesHDAP1 and DesHDAP3 showed significant antibacterial activity. In this study, their DNA binding, permeabilization, and translocation abilities were assessed independently and compared to antibacterial activity to determine whether they share a mechanism with BF2. To investigate the importance of proline in determining the peptides' mechanisms of action, proline to alanine mutants of the novel peptides were generated. DesHDAP1, which shows significant similarities to BF2 in terms of secondary structure, translocates effectively across lipid vesicle and bacterial membranes, while the DesHDAP1 proline mutant shows reduced translocation abilities and antimicrobial potency. In contrast, both DesHDAP3 and its proline mutant translocate poorly, though the DesHDAP3 proline mutant is more potent. Our findings suggest that a proline hinge can promote membrane translocation in some peptides, but that the extent of its effect on permeabilization depends on the peptide's amphipathic properties. Our results also highlight the different antimicrobial mechanisms exhibited by histone-derived peptides and suggest that histones may serve as a source of novel antimicrobial peptides with varied properties.     

Converting the Yeast Arginine Can1 Permease to a Lysine Permease

Amino acid uptake in yeast cells is mediated by about 16 plasma membrane permeases, most of which belong to the amino acid-polyamine-organocation (APC) transporter family. These proteins display various substrate specificity ranges. For instance, the general amino acid permease Gap1 transports all amino acids, whereas Can1 and Lyp1 catalyze specific uptake of arginine and lysine, respectively. Although Can1 and Lyp1 have different narrow substrate specificities, they are close homologs. Here we investigated the molecular rules determining the substrate specificity of the H⁺-driven arginine-specific permease Can1. Using a Can1-Lyp1 sequence alignment as a guideline and a three-dimensional Can1 structural model based on the crystal structure of the bacterial APC family arginine/agmatine antiporter, we introduced amino acid substitutions liable to alter Can1 substrate specificity. We show that the single substitution T456S results in a Can1 variant transporting lysine in addition to arginine and that the combined substitutions T456S and S176N convert Can1 to a Lyp1-like permease. Replacement of a highly conserved glutamate in the Can1 binding site leads to variants (E184Q and E184A) incapable of any amino acid transport, pointing to a potential role for this glutamate in H⁺ coupling. Measurements of the kinetic parameters of arginine and lysine uptake by the wild-type and mutant Can1 permeases, together with docking calculations for each amino acid in their binding site, suggest a model in which residues at positions 176 and 456 confer substrate selectivity at the ligand-binding stage and/or in the course of conformational changes required for transport.     

Protein motifs and their structure-functional role]

The review deals with repeating fragments of amino acid sequences, so-called "motifs", that are important in maintaining structural integrity and/or function of various proteins, especially those interacting with phospholipid aggregates. The occurrence of Phe-Leu-Gly motif characteristic for the amino acid sequence of the primate immuno-deficiency viruses fusion peptides is analysed in various proteins, as well as tripeptide fragments of general formula Xaa-Xah-Gly (Xaa-Phe, Tyr; Xab-hydrophobic amino acids Ala, Val, Leu, Ile) homologous to the above motif and retro-sequences Gly-Xab-Xaa. These tripeptide repeats are characteristic for the amino acid sequences of complex membrane proteins, viral envelope proteins, proteinases and proteins connected with energy transfer or interacting with lipids. These repeats are frequently met in conservative regions of amino acid sequences, in sites readily accessible for other molecules at the boundary of or between structured fragments, this being due to the backbone semi-coiled form's preference in the given amino acid fragment. This protein motif appears to play an important role at the initial stages of the large protein's interaction with the phospholipid membrane.     

Translocating proline-rich peptides from the antimicrobial peptide bactenecin 7

The intracellular delivery of most peptides, proteins, and nucleotides to the cytoplasm and nucleus is impeded by the cell membrane. To allow simplified, noninvasive delivery of attached cargo, cell-permeant peptides that are either highly cationic or hydrophobic have been utilized. Because cell-permeable peptides share half of the structural features of antimicrobial peptides containing clusters of charge and hydrophobic residues, we have explored antimicrobial peptides as templates for designing cell-permeant peptides. We prepared synthetic fragments of Bac 7, an antimicrobial peptide with four 14-residue repeats from the bactenecin family. The dual functions of cell permeability and antimicrobial activity of Bac 7 were colocalized at the N-terminal 24 residues of Bac 7. In general, long fragments of Bac(1-24) containing both regions were bactericidal and cell-permeable, whereas short fragments with only a cationic or hydrophobic region were cell-permeant without the attendant microbicidal activity when measured in a fluorescence quantitation assay and by confocal microscopy. In addition, the highly cationic fragments were capable of traversing the cell membrane and residing within the nucleus. A common characteristic shared by the cell-permeant Bac(1-24) fragments, irrespective of their number of charged cationic amino acids, is their high proline content. A 10-residue proline-rich peptide with two arginine residues was capable of delivering a noncovalently linked protein into cells. Thus, the proline-rich peptides represent a potentially new class of cell-permeant peptides for intracellular delivery of protein cargo. Furthermore, our results suggest that antimicrobial peptides may represent a rich source of templates for designing cell-permeant peptides.     

Characterization of Antimicrobial and Antioxidative Peptides Synthesized by <Emphasis Type="Italic">L. rhamnosus</Emphasis> C6 Fermentation of Milk

Lactobacillus rhamnosus C6 was used for milk fermentation with the aim of synthesizing antimicrobial and antioxidant peptides rich preparations. The proteolysis was checked for an incubation period of 72 h to check the extent of both bioactivities in fermentate. The 36 h incubated fermentate showed higher inhibition zone diameter against E. coli ATCC 25922 as well as antioxidant activity. Ultrafiltrate was further purified by solid phase extraction and then subjected to reverse phase chromatography. Among 12 fractions collected, higher activity containing fractions were sequenced through LC–MS and characterized. Total 49 peptide sequences identified including 13 novel sequences rich in proline with helix forming ability. Higher antimicrobial activity containing fractions have potent previously reported Casicidin-17 peptides along with a series of proline rich peptides. Antioxidant rich peptides profile contains 21 peptide of smaller sequence of mainly 9–12 amino acids with lower molecular weight. This study demonstrates the capacity of L. rhamnosus C6 to release antioxidative and antimicrobial peptide by proteolysis of milk proteins through peptide profiling and characterization.