Journal
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES
Volume 1858, Issue 11, Pages 2699-2708Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.07.001
Keywords
Antimicrobial peptides; Mastoparan; Rational design; Hydrophobic moment; Membrane permeabilization/depolarization
Categories
Funding
- IMPC (Institut des Materiaux de Paris Centre) [FR2482]
- C'Nano projects of the Region Ile-de-France
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The emergence of antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates and the decreased rate of development of new antibiotics are a constant threat to human health. In this context, the therapeutic value of mastoparan (MP), a toxin from wasp venom, has been extensively studied. However, since MP shows significant cytotoxic activities, further optimization is needed. Here we evaluated the antimicrobial and cytolytic activities of an MP analog created by Ala-substitution in positions 5 and 8, named [I-5, R-8] mastoparan ([I-5, R-8] MP). We found that [I-5, R-5] MP displayed a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi (MIC in the range 3-25 mu M), without being hemolytic or cytotoxic toward HEK-293 cells. In addition, [I-5, R-8] MP-amide was highly potent (MIC = 3 mu M) against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The interaction with microbial membranes was investigated revealing that [I-5, R-8] MP is able to form an active amphipathic ct-helix conformation and to disturb membranes causing lysis and cell death. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that [I-5, R-8] MP follows a mechanism of action similar to that proposed for MP, where the pore-forming activity leads to cell death. Our results indicate that hydrophobic moment modified by amino acid substitution may enhance MP selectivity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available