A template based on positional residue frequencies in the N-terminal stretch of natural α-helical antimicrobial peptides was used to prepare sequence patterns and to scan the Swiss-Prot Database, using the ScanProsite tool. This search identified a segment in pilosulin 1, a cytotoxic peptide from the venom of the jumper ant Myrmecia pilosula, as a potential novel antimicrobial peptide sequence. This segment, corresponding to the 20 N-terminal residues, was synthesized and its structural properties and biological activities were investigated. It showed a potent and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity including standard and multi-drug resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and Candida albicans, confirming the validity of the search method. A rational redesign approach resulting in four amino acid substitutions yielded a variant with improved antibacterial and significantly reduced hemolytic activity.
Titolo: | Identification and optimization of an antimicrobial peptide from the ant venom toxin pilosulin |
Autori: | |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2005 |
Rivista: | |
Abstract: | A template based on positional residue frequencies in the N-terminal stretch of natural α-helical antimicrobial peptides was used to prepare sequence patterns and to scan the Swiss-Prot Database, using the ScanProsite tool. This search identified a segment in pilosulin 1, a cytotoxic peptide from the venom of the jumper ant Myrmecia pilosula, as a potential novel antimicrobial peptide sequence. This segment, corresponding to the 20 N-terminal residues, was synthesized and its structural properties and biological activities were investigated. It showed a potent and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity including standard and multi-drug resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and Candida albicans, confirming the validity of the search method. A rational redesign approach resulting in four amino acid substitutions yielded a variant with improved antibacterial and significantly reduced hemolytic activity. |
Handle: | http://hdl.handle.net/11368/1702264 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2004.11.006 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 1.1 Articolo in Rivista |