家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-2的电泳制备及其抗菌作用机理

通过体壁损伤和感染大肠杆菌同时诱导家蝇Musca domestica幼虫产生免疫血淋巴,经沸水浴热变性,透析浓缩处理,然后经Tricine-SDS-PAGE得到诱导前后家蝇幼虫血淋巴中蛋白差异表达条带,将该条带电泳回收,复性,抗菌活性检测等步骤,分离纯化得到抗菌肽MDL-2,其分子中富含Pro,Gly和碱性氨基酸,分子量为11 kD,对革兰氏阴性菌Escherichia coli和革兰氏阳性菌Staphylococcus aureus均有较强抗性,因此电泳制备抗菌肽的方法为此类生物微量活性物质的分离纯化提供一种行之有效的途径。通过MDL-2对大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌通透性和透射电镜超微结构的图谱分析,MDL-2首先与细菌的外膜结合,然后抗菌肽形成柔性的两亲空间构象与细胞内膜作用,扰乱了膜脂分子的排列,改变了细胞膜的通透性,影响细胞膜的结构和功能,细胞膜上形成了许多孔道,同时造成细胞内的原生质扩散,并从孔道向胞外渗漏,影响了细菌的代谢系统,最终引起细胞膜破碎,细胞完全解体,从而起到抑菌杀菌作用。     

家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-2对细菌细胞渗透性及代谢功能影响

研究了家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-2与细菌相互作用时,抗菌肤MDL-2对细菌细胞壁的溶解作用、细胞膜渗透性和代谢的影响.抗菌肽MDL-2在抗菌过程中首先与细菌的细胞壁相互作用,使其破裂,抗菌肽对革兰氏阴性细菌大肠杆菌细胞壁的作用有浓度依赖性,而对革兰氏阳性细菌金黄色葡萄球菌MDL-2在较低的浓度时即可发生细胞壁破坏作用;抗菌...     

家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-3分子结构的荧光特性

研究了家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-3的荧光光谱和淬灭剂对内源性荧光的影响.家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-3在280nm波长的激发光时,荧光光谱为Tyr残基和Trp残基共同提供,KI不能淬灭抗菌肽MDL-3的Trp残基的荧光,而Acr只能淬灭71%(f=0.71)的抗菌肽MDL-3中的Trp残基的荧光,说明Trp残基不是位于抗菌肽分子的表面,而是位于分子的内部.     

细菌成孔毒素研究进展

成孔毒素是多种致病性细菌分泌的一种重要毒力因子,通过在真核细胞膜上形成孔道结构,引起细胞裂解。基于毒素产生孔径的大小和与细胞作用方式的不同,可将其分为大成孔毒素、小成孔毒素和RTX毒素。成孔毒素主要通过改变细胞膜的通透性发挥毒性效应,导致细胞死亡,然而失去细胞通透性屏障的早期后果通常是细胞因子的释放,细胞内蛋白激酶的激活,有时会诱导细胞凋亡。     

加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用

[目的]细菌细胞膜的损伤可以表现在细菌细胞内物质泄漏和细菌细胞吸收染料.与巴氏杀菌(63℃C、30 min)比较,研究加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用,目的是分析出大肠杆菌死亡与细胞膜损伤的关系.[方法]检测大肠杆菌细胞膜通透性的改变情况,大肠杆菌内蛋白质和核酸的泄漏程度,并通过透射电镜观察大肠杆菌形态的改变情况.[结果]在研究范围内,加压CO2处理使大肠杆菌细胞膜通透性发生改变;加压CO2处理时虽然发生了胞内蛋白质泄漏,但发生泄漏的时间明显滞后于99％以上菌体死亡时间,因此并不是大肠杆菌死亡的原因,只是大肠杆菌死亡后的继发现象;大肠杆菌死亡与加压CO2处理导致的胞内核酸泄漏有关;大肠杆菌死亡与加压CO2处理导致的菌体形态改变有关.[结论]加压CO2对大肠杆菌细胞膜的损伤作用与菌体死亡有直接关系.     

新疆家蚕抗菌肽抗菌作用的超微结构观察及抗菌机理初探

为探讨基因工程表达的新疆家蚕(Bombyx mori)抗菌肽(cecropin-XJ)的抗菌机制,通过紫外分光光度法研究抗菌肽的抑菌动力学,并采用透射电镜观察抗菌肽作用于金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)后的超微结构,对抗菌肽抗菌机理进行初步探讨。结果表明,抗菌肽抑菌作用比较明显,抗菌肽的活性与作用时间有关。抗菌肽可能是通过"桶-板"模式渗透细胞膜,从而影响细胞膜的结构和功能,使细胞膜形成许多孔道,增强了金黄色葡萄球菌细胞的通透性,造成细胞内的原生质扩散,并从孔道向胞外渗漏,影响了细菌的代谢系统,从而起到抑菌、杀菌作用。抗菌肽使金黄色葡萄球菌细胞内容物大量渗漏而死亡,死亡细胞的细胞壁保持完整,表明细胞膜是抗菌肽作用的主要靶位点。     

不同细菌对家蝇幼虫抗菌蛋白/肽的诱导效应

利用抑菌圈测量法和毛细管电泳研究、比较不同细菌对家蝇Musca domesticaL.幼虫抗菌蛋白/肽的诱导效应。结果表明,家蝇幼虫受细菌诱导后抗菌活性比对照都有不同程度的增加,同时不同细菌诱导表达样品对于相应的诱导菌均表现很高的抗菌活性。毛细管电泳图谱表明鼠伤寒沙门氏菌Salmonella typhimurium50013诱导后抗菌蛋白/肽表达强度增加了50倍,其它细菌诱导后抗菌蛋白/肽表达强度增加了1～40倍。与G+细菌相比,G-细菌具有更强的诱导效应。结论:家蝇幼虫对不同的细菌刺激有特异性反应,即不同细菌诱导抗菌蛋白/肽的强度、种类和数量都不一致。     

家蝇抗菌肽基因MAF-1的表达模式及响应微生物刺激分析

Musca domestica antifungal peptide-1(MAF-1)是家蝇体(Musca domestica)内组成型表达的一种独特且具有良好抑菌效果的抗真菌肽.本研究利用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析MAF-1在家蝇不同发育时期、不同组织器官及家蝇3龄幼虫经微生物(大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和白色念珠菌)刺激后的表达特征.结果显示,MAF-1在家蝇各个发育时期的相对表达量依次为:2龄幼虫＞1龄幼虫＞3龄幼虫＞雄蝇成虫＞卵＞雌蝇成虫＞蛹;MAF-1在家蝇3龄幼虫各组织器官的相对表达量依次为:脂肪体＞唾液腺＞气管＞肠道＞体壁.通过超微量显微注射法向家蝇3龄幼虫体内注入病原微生物,其中金黄色葡萄球菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量呈下降趋势;大肠杆菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先降低后升高再降低;白色念珠菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先升高然后逐渐下降.本研究从RNA水平上说明了MAF-1的表达随着家蝇幼虫的生长发育阶段变化,对不同微生物刺激的响应具有不同的特征.同时MAF-1还是家蝇抵抗病原微生物感染的重要天然免疫分子,这为进一步研究其参与家蝇天然免疫防御过程提供了基础.     

家蝇抗菌肽基因MAF-1的表达模式及响应微生物刺激分析

Musca domestica antifungal peptide-1(MAF-1)是家蝇体(Musca domestica)内组成型表达的一种独特且具有良好抑菌效果的抗真菌肽.本研究利用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析MAF-1在家蝇不同发育时期、不同组织器官及家蝇3龄幼虫经微生物(大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和白色念珠菌)刺激后的表达特征.结果显示,MAF-1在家蝇各个发育时期的相对表达量依次为:2龄幼虫＞1龄幼虫＞3龄幼虫＞雄蝇成虫＞卵＞雌蝇成虫＞蛹;MAF-1在家蝇3龄幼虫各组织器官的相对表达量依次为:脂肪体＞唾液腺＞气管＞肠道＞体壁.通过超微量显微注射法向家蝇3龄幼虫体内注入病原微生物,其中金黄色葡萄球菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量呈下降趋势;大肠杆菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先降低后升高再降低;白色念珠菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先升高然后逐渐下降.本研究从RNA水平上说明了MAF-1的表达随着家蝇幼虫的生长发育阶段变化,对不同微生物刺激的响应具有不同的特征.同时MAF-1还是家蝇抵抗病原微生物感染的重要天然免疫分子,这为进一步研究其参与家蝇天然免疫防御过程提供了基础.     

家蝇抗菌肽基因MAF-1的表达模式及响应微生物刺激分析

Musca domestica antifungal peptide-1(MAF-1)是家蝇体(Musca domestica)内组成型表达的一种独特且具有良好抑菌效果的抗真菌肽.本研究利用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析MAF-1在家蝇不同发育时期、不同组织器官及家蝇3龄幼虫经微生物(大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和白色念珠菌)刺激后的表达特征.结果显示,MAF-1在家蝇各个发育时期的相对表达量依次为:2龄幼虫＞1龄幼虫＞3龄幼虫＞雄蝇成虫＞卵＞雌蝇成虫＞蛹;MAF-1在家蝇3龄幼虫各组织器官的相对表达量依次为:脂肪体＞唾液腺＞气管＞肠道＞体壁.通过超微量显微注射法向家蝇3龄幼虫体内注入病原微生物,其中金黄色葡萄球菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量呈下降趋势;大肠杆菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先降低后升高再降低;白色念珠菌刺激后MAF-1的表达量先升高然后逐渐下降.本研究从RNA水平上说明了MAF-1的表达随着家蝇幼虫的生长发育阶段变化,对不同微生物刺激的响应具有不同的特征.同时MAF-1还是家蝇抵抗病原微生物感染的重要天然免疫分子,这为进一步研究其参与家蝇天然免疫防御过程提供了基础.     

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.     

Role of helicity of α-helical antimicrobial peptides to improve specificity

A major barrier to the use of antimicrobial peptides as antibiotics is the toxicity or ability to lyse eukaryotic cells. In this study, a 26-residue amphipathic α-helical antimicrobial peptide A12L/A20L (Ac-KWKSFLKTFKSLK KTVLHTLLKAISS-amide) was used as the framework to design a series of D- and L-diastereomeric peptides and study the relationships of helicity and biological activities of α-helical antimicrobial peptides. Peptide helicity was measured by circular dichroism spectroscopy and demonstrated to correlate with the hydrophobicity of peptides and the numbers of D-amino acid substitutions. Therapeutic index was used to evaluate the selectivity of peptides against prokaryotic cells. By introducing D-amino acids to replace the original L-amino acids on the non-polar face or the polar face of the helix, the hemolytic activity of peptide analogs have been significantly reduced. Compared to the parent peptide, the therapeutic indices were improved of 44-fold and 22-fold against Gram-negative and Grampositive bacteria, respectively. In addition, D- and L-diastereomeric peptides exhibited lower interaction with zwitterionic eukaryotic membrane and showed the significant membrane damaging effect to bacterial cells. Helicity was proved to play a crucial role on peptide specificity and biological activities. By simply replacing the hydrophobic or the hydrophilic amino acid residues on the non-polar or the polar face of these amphipathic derivatives of the parent peptide with D-amino acids, we demonstrated that this method could have excellent potential for the rational design of antimicrobial peptides with enhanced specificity.     

Preassembly of membrane-active peptides is an important factor in their selectivity toward target cells

Membrane-active peptides comprise a large group of toxins used in the defense and offense systems of all organisms including plants and humans. They act on diverse targets including microorganisms and mammalian cells, but the factors that determine their target cell selectivity are not yet clear. Here, we tested the role of peptide length and preassembly on the ability of diastereomeric cationic antimicrobial peptides to discriminate among bacteria, erythrocytes, and fungal cells, by using peptides with variable lengths (13, 16, and 19 amino acids long) and their covalently linked pentameric bundles. All the bundles expressed similar potent antifungal activity (minimal inhibitory concentration of 0.2-0.3 microM) and high antimicrobial activity. Hemolytic activity was also observed at concentrations higher than those required for antifungal activity. In contrast, all the monomers showed length-dependent antimicrobial activity, were less active toward bacteria and fungi, and were devoid of hemolytic activity. BIAcore biosensor experiments revealed a approximately 300-fold increase in peptide-membrane binding affinity between the 13- and 19-residue monomers toward zwitterionic (egg phosphatidylcholine (PC)/egg spingomyelin (SM)/cholesterol) vesicles. All the monomeric peptides display a similar high affinity to negatively charged (E. coli phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)/egg phosphatidylglycerol (PG)) vesicles regardless of their length. In contrast, irrespective of the size of the monomeric subunit, all the bundles bind irreversibly and strongly disrupt both PC/SM/cholesterol and PE/PG membranes. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that peptide assembly also affects structure as observed by an increased alpha-helical and beta-sheet content in membranes and enhances acyl chain disruption of PC/cholesterol. The correlation between the antibacterial activity and ability to depolarize the transmembrane potential of E. coli spheroplasts, as well as the ability to induce calcein release from vesicles, suggests that the bacterial membrane is their target. The data demonstrate that preassembly of cationic diastereomeric antimicrobial peptides is an essential factor in their membrane targeting.     

Structure-activity relationship of buffalo antibacterial hepcidin analogs

Hepcidin is an anti-microbial peptide expressed predominantly in the liver of many species. Based on the amino acid sequence deduced from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) hepcidin cDNA (Accession no. EU399814), six peptides Hepc(1-25), Hepc(6-25), Hepc(7-25), Hepc(9-25), Hepc(11-25) and Hepc(15-25) were synthesized using solid-phase fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry. CD spectroscopy revealed different spectra of the peptides in different solvents and in all the cases beta-structure was found to be dominant with less alpha-helix as predicted. Quantitation of secondary structure indicated the highest beta-structure for all the six peptides in SDS solution, when used as mimetic for membrane-like environment. The CD spectra of all the peptides taken in water showed that degree of randomness decreased with increase in chain length of the peptide. Out of the six peptides, only Hepc(1-25), Hepc(6-25) and Hepc(7-25) showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria). The peptides did not show any sensitivity toward E. coli (Gram-negative bacteria). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed the lowest value for Hepc(7-25) as an antibacterial agent, followed by Hepc(6-25) and Hepc(1-25). The peptides Hepc(9-25), Hepc(11-25) and Hepc(15-25) with more random structure did not show any antimicrobial activity The study demonstrated that 5 amino acids at N-terminal in buffalo hepcidin can be truncated without loss of antimicrobial activity and further reduction of length of the analog from 20 to 19 amino acids resulted increase in the activity because of increase in beta-structure of the peptide shown by CD spectroscopy.     

Characterization of antimicrobial peptides against a US strain of the rice pathogen Rhizoctonia solani

AIM: To identify antimicrobial peptides with high lytic activity against Rhizoctonia solani strain LR172, causal agent of rice sheath blight and aerial blight of soyabeans in the US. METHODS AND RESULTS: Among 12 natural and synthetic antimicrobial peptides tested in vitro, the wheat-seed peptide, purothionin, showed the strongest inhibitory activity that was similar to the antifungal antibiotics, nystatin and nikkomycin Z. Cecropin B, a natural peptide from cecropia moth, and synthetic peptide D4E1 produced the highest inhibitory activity against R. solani among linear peptides. Membrane permeabilization levels strongly correlated with antifungal activity of the peptides. Noticeable changes in membrane integrity were observed at concentrations of >/=0.5 micromol l(-1) for purothionin, 2 micromol l(-1) for cecropin B, D4E1, D2A21, melittin, and phor21, and 8 micromol l(-1) for magainin II and phor14. An increase of nuclear membrane permeabilization was observed in fungal cells treated with cecropin B, but not with purothionin. Diffusion of nuclear content was observed by fluorescent microscopy 10 min after adding a lethal concentration of cecropin B. Evaluation by electron microscopy confirmed severe cytoplasmic degradation and plasma membrane vesiculation. Purothionin and cecropin B were the most stable against proteolytic degradation when added to liquid cultures of R. solani. CONCLUSIONS: Purothionin, cecropin B, D4E1 and phor21 were shown to exhibit high in vitro lytic activity against R. solani strain LR172 for rice and soyabean. These peptides are greater than 16 amino acids long and rapidly increase fungal membrane permeabilization. Resistance to proteolysis is important for sufficient antifungal activity of antimicrobial peptides. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Selected antimicrobial peptides offer an attractive alternative to traditional chemicals that could be utilized in molecular breeding to develop crops resistant to rice sheath blight and aerial blight of soyabean.     

九香虫抗菌肽CcAMP1的分离纯化和抗菌活性检测

【目的】从药用昆虫九香虫 Coridius chinensis 中分离纯化抗菌肽,为进一步开发九香虫抗菌肽资源及深入挖掘九香虫的药用功能奠定基础。【方法】用大肠杆菌Escherichia coli 和金黄色葡萄球菌 Staphylococcus aureus 混合物作诱导源刺激九香虫产生抗菌肽,对血淋巴进行提取、凝胶过滤层析、固相萃取及反相色谱纯化,活性组分经质谱测定。对分离得到的这种抗菌肽进行人工合成,并进行抗菌活性检测。【结果】本研究获得一种九香虫抗菌肽CcAMP1,由17个氨基酸残基组成,分子量为1 997.37 u,带1个正电荷,表面有5个疏水氨基酸。对人工合成的CcAMP1进行抗菌活性检测表明,该抗菌肽与九香虫血淋巴一样对金黄色葡萄球菌等革兰氏阳性菌和大肠杆菌等革兰氏阴性菌都有较好的抗菌活性,且对革兰氏阴性菌的抗菌活性更强。【结论】从九香虫中分离得到具有较强抗菌活性的阳离子抗菌肽CcAMP1,有较大的开发利用价值。     

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.     

Rationale for the design of shortened derivatives of the NK-lysin-derived antimicrobial peptide NK-2 with improved activity against Gram-negative pathogens

The peptide NK-2 is an effective antimicrobial agent with low hemolytic and cytotoxic activities and is thus a promising candidate for clinical applications. It comprises the alpha-helical, cationic core region of porcine NK-lysin a homolog of human granulysin and of amoebapores of pathogenic amoeba. Here we visualized the impact of NK-2 on Escherichia coli by electron microscopy and used NK-2 as a template for sequence variations to improve the peptide stability and activity and to gain insight into the structure/function relationships. We synthesized 18 new peptides and tested their activities on seven Gram-negative and one Gram-positive bacterial strains, human erythrocytes, and HeLa cells. Although all peptides appeared unordered in buffer, those active against bacteria adopted an alpha-helical conformation in membrane-mimetic environments like trifluoroethanol and negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol (PG) liposomes that mimick the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria. This conformation was not observed in the presence of liposomes consisting of zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine (PC) typical for the human cell plasma membrane. The interaction was paralleled by intercalation of these peptides into PG liposomes as determined by FRET spectroscopy. A comparative analysis between biological activity and the calculated peptide parameters revealed that the decisive factor for a broad spectrum activity is not the peptide overall hydrophobicity or amphipathicity, but the possession of a minimal positive net charge plus a highly amphipathic anchor point of only seven amino acid residues (two helical turns).