Interaction studies of novel cell selective antimicrobial peptides with model membranes and E. coli ATCC 11775

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) are novel candidates for drug development. Here we describe design of six short and potent CAMPs (SA-1 to SA-6) based on a minimalist template of 12 residues H+HHG+HH+HH+NH2 (where H: hydrophobic amino acid and +: charged hydrophilic amino acid). Designed peptides exhibit good antibacterial activity in micro molar concentration range (1-32 μg/ml) and rapid clearance of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains at concentrations higher than MIC. For elucidating mode of action of designed peptides various biophysical studies including CD and Trp fluorescence were performed using model membranes. Further based on activity, selectivity and membrane bound structure; modes of action of Trp rich peptide SA-3 and template based peptide SA-4 were compared. Calcein dye leakage and transmission electron microscopic studies with model membranes exhibited selective membrane active mode of action for peptide SA-3 and SA-4. Extending our work from model membranes to intact E. coli ATCC 11775 in scanning electron micrographs we could visualize different patterns of surface perturbation caused by peptide SA-3 and SA-4. Further at low concentration rapid translocation of FITC-tagged peptide SA-3 into the cytoplasm of E. coli cells without concomitant membrane perturbation indicates involvement of intracellular targeting mechanism as an alternate mode of action as was also evidenced in DNA retardation assay. For peptide SA-4 concentration dependent translocation into the bacterial cytoplasm along with membrane perturbation was observed. Establishment of a non specific membrane lytic mode of action of these peptides makes them suitable candidates for drug development.     

Neutrophil transmigration under shear flow conditions in vitro is junctional adhesion molecule-C independent

Endothelial cell junctional adhesion molecule (JAM)-C has been proposed to regulate neutrophil migration. In the current study, we used function-blocking mAbs against human JAM-C to determine its role in human leukocyte adhesion and transendothelial cell migration under flow conditions. JAM-C surface expression in HUVEC was uniformly low, and treatment with inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, or LPS did not increase its surface expression as assessed by FACS analysis. By immunofluorescence microscopy, JAM-C staining showed sparse localization to cell-cell junctions on resting or cytokine-activated HUVEC. Surprisingly, staining of detergent-permeabilized HUVEC revealed a large intracellular pool of JAM-C that showed little colocalization with von Willebrand factor. Adhesion studies in an in vitro flow model showed that functional blocking JAM-C mAb alone had no inhibitory effect on polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) adhesion or transmigration, whereas mAb to ICAM-1 significantly reduced transmigration. Interestingly, JAM-C-blocking mAbs synergized with a combination of PECAM-1, ICAM-1, and CD99-blocking mAbs to inhibit PMN transmigration. Overexpression of JAM-C by infection with a lentivirus JAM-C GFP fusion protein did not increase adhesion or extent of transmigration of PMN or evoke a role for JAM-C in transendothelial migration. These data suggest that JAM-C has a minimal role, if any, in PMN transmigration in this model and that ICAM-1 is the preferred endothelial-expressed ligand for PMN beta(2) integrins during transendothelial migration.     

Comparison of heterologous neutralizing antibody responses of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)- and HIV-2-infected Senegalese patients: distinct patterns of breadth and magnitude distinguish HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections

Neutralizing antibody responses against heterologous isolates in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 infections were compared, and their relationships with established clinical markers of progression were examined. Neutralizing responses against 7 heterologous primary isolates and 1 laboratory strain were compared between 32 untreated HIV-1-infected subjects and 35 untreated HIV-2-infected subjects using a pseudotyped reporter virus assay. The breadth of the neutralizing response, defined as the proportion of panel viruses positively neutralized by patient plasma, was significantly greater among HIV-2-infected subjects than among HIV-1-infected subjects. Notably, for fully one-third of HIV-2 subjects, all viruses were effectively neutralized in our panel. Magnitudes of responses, defined as reciprocal 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) titers for positive reactions, were significantly greater among HIV-1-infected subjects than among HIV-2-infected subjects. When plasma samples from HIV-1 patients were tested for cross-neutralization of HIV-2 and vice versa, we found that these intertype responses are very rare and their prevalences comparable in both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection. The significantly higher magnitude of heterologous responses for HIV-1 compared to HIV-2 prompted us to examine associations with viremia, which is known to be significantly higher in HIV-1 infection. Importantly, there was a significant positive correlation between the IC(50) titer and viral load within both the HIV-1 and HIV-2 groups, suggesting heterologous antibodies may be driven by viral replication. We conclude that HIV-2 infection is characterized by a broad, low-magnitude intratype neutralization response, while HIV-1 is characterized by a narrower but higher-magnitude intratype response and that a significant positive association between the IC(50) titer and viremia is common to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections.     

Roles for two aminopeptidases in vacuolar hemoglobin catabolism in Plasmodium falciparum

During the erythrocytic stage of its life cycle, the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum catabolizes large quantities of host-cell hemoglobin in an acidic organelle, the food vacuole. A current model for the catabolism of globin-derived oligopeptides invokes peptide transport out of the food vacuole followed by hydrolysis to amino acids by cytosolic aminopeptidases. To test this model, we have examined the roles of four parasite aminopeptidases during the erythrocytic cycle. Localization of tagged aminopeptidases, coupled with biochemical analysis of enriched food vacuoles, revealed the presence of amino acid-generating pathways in the food vacuole as well as the cytosol. Based on the localization data and in vitro assays, we propose a specific role for one of the plasmodial enzymes, aminopeptidase P, in the catabolism of proline-containing peptides in both the vacuole and the cytosol. We establish an apparent requirement for three of the four aminopeptidases (including the two food vacuole enzymes) for efficient parasite proliferation. To gain insight into the impact of aminopeptidase inhibition on parasite development, we examined the effect of the presence of amino acids in the culture medium of the parasite on the toxicity of the aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin. The ability of bestatin to block parasite replication was only slightly affected when 19 of 20 amino acids were withdrawn from the medium, indicating that exogenous amino acids cannot compensate for the loss of aminopeptidase activity. Together, these results support the development of aminopeptidase inhibitors as novel chemotherapeutics directed against malaria.     

ERp57 is essential for efficient folding of glycoproteins sharing common structural domains

ERp57 is a member of the protein disulphide isomerase family of oxidoreductases, which are involved in native disulphide bond formation in the endoplasmic reticulum of mammalian cells. This enzyme has been shown to be associated with both calnexin and calreticulin and, therefore, has been proposed to be a glycoprotein-specific oxidoreductase. Here, we identify endogenous substrates for ERp57 by trapping mixed disulphide intermediates between enzyme and substrate. Our results demonstrate that the substrates for this enzyme are mostly heavily glycosylated, disulphide bonded proteins. In addition, we show that the substrate proteins share common structural domains, indicating that substrate specificity may involve specific structural features as well as the presence of an oligosaccharide side chain. We also show that the folding of two of the endogenous substrates for ERp57 is impaired in ERp57 knockout cells and that prevention of an interaction with calnexin or calreticulin perturbs the folding of some, but not all, substrates with multiple disulphide bonds. These results suggest a specific role for ERp57 in the isomerisation of non-native disulphide bonds in specific glycoprotein substrates.     

Role of 4-hydroxynonenal and its metabolites in signaling

Available evidence from a multitude of studies on the effects of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) on cellular processes seem to converge on some common themes: (i) concentration-dependent opposing effects of HNE on key signaling components (e.g. protein kinase C, adenylate cyclase) predict that certain constitutive levels of HNE may be needed for normal cell functions - lowering of this constitutive HNE level in cells promotes proliferative machinery while an increase in this level promotes apoptotic signaling; (ii) HNE is a common denominator in stress-induced apoptosis caused by H(2)O(2), superoxide, UV, heat or oxidant chemicals such as doxorubicin; and (iii) HNE can modulate ligand-independent signaling by membrane receptors such as EGFR or Fas (CD95) and may act as a sensor of external stimuli for eliciting stress-response. Against a backdrop of various reported effects of HNE, in vitro and in vivo, we have critically evaluated the above mentioned hypotheses suggesting a key role of HNE in signaling.