Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) are a group of gene-encoded small peptides that play pivotal roles in the host immune system of multicellular organisms.Cathelicidins are an important family of AMPs that exclusively exist...Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) are a group of gene-encoded small peptides that play pivotal roles in the host immune system of multicellular organisms.Cathelicidins are an important family of AMPs that exclusively exist in vertebrates. Many cathelicidins have been identified from mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. To date, however, cathelicidins from amphibians are poorly understood. In the present study, two novel cathelicidins(OL-CATH1 and 2) were identified and studied from the odorous frog Odorrana livida.Firstly, the cDNAs encoding the OL-CATHs(780 and735 bp in length, respectively) were successfully cloned from a lung cDNA library constructed for the frog. Multi-sequence alignment was carried out to analyze differences between the precursors of the OL-CATHs and other representative cathelicidins.Mature peptide sequences of OL-CATH1 and 2 were predicted(33 amino acid residues) and their secondary structures were determined(OL-CATH1 showed a random-coil conformation and OL-CATH2 demonstrated α-helical conformation). Furthermore,OL-CATH1 and 2 were chemically synthesized and their in vitro functions were determined. Antimicrobial and bacterial killing kinetic analyses indicated that OL-CATH2 demonstrated relatively moderate and rapid antimicrobial potency and exhibited strong anti-inflammatory activity. At very low concentrations(10 μg/mL), OL-CATH2 significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced transcription and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1βand IL-6 in mouse peritoneal macrophages. In contrast, OL-CATH1 did not exhibit any detectableantimicrobial or anti-inflammatory activities. Overall,identification of these OL-CATHs from O. livida enriches our understanding of the functions of cathelicidins in the amphibian immune system. The potent antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of OL-CATH2 highlight its potential as a novel candidate in anti-infective drug development.展开更多
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 a-helical antimicrobial peptide A12L/A20L （Ac-KWKSFLKTF...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 a-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 activi- ties of o-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 substitu- tions. 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 Gram- positive 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 pep- tides with enhanced specificity.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the Jiangsu Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program(2017suda098)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31772455)+2 种基金Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20160336 and BK20171214)Natural Science Foundation of College in Jiangsu Province(16KJB350004)Suzhou Science and Technology Development Project(SYN201504 and SNG2017045)
文摘Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) are a group of gene-encoded small peptides that play pivotal roles in the host immune system of multicellular organisms.Cathelicidins are an important family of AMPs that exclusively exist in vertebrates. Many cathelicidins have been identified from mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. To date, however, cathelicidins from amphibians are poorly understood. In the present study, two novel cathelicidins(OL-CATH1 and 2) were identified and studied from the odorous frog Odorrana livida.Firstly, the cDNAs encoding the OL-CATHs(780 and735 bp in length, respectively) were successfully cloned from a lung cDNA library constructed for the frog. Multi-sequence alignment was carried out to analyze differences between the precursors of the OL-CATHs and other representative cathelicidins.Mature peptide sequences of OL-CATH1 and 2 were predicted(33 amino acid residues) and their secondary structures were determined(OL-CATH1 showed a random-coil conformation and OL-CATH2 demonstrated α-helical conformation). Furthermore,OL-CATH1 and 2 were chemically synthesized and their in vitro functions were determined. Antimicrobial and bacterial killing kinetic analyses indicated that OL-CATH2 demonstrated relatively moderate and rapid antimicrobial potency and exhibited strong anti-inflammatory activity. At very low concentrations(10 μg/mL), OL-CATH2 significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced transcription and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1βand IL-6 in mouse peritoneal macrophages. In contrast, OL-CATH1 did not exhibit any detectableantimicrobial or anti-inflammatory activities. Overall,identification of these OL-CATHs from O. livida enriches our understanding of the functions of cathelicidins in the amphibian immune system. The potent antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of OL-CATH2 highlight its potential as a novel candidate in anti-infective drug development.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Founda- tion of China （Grant Nos. 81373445 to Y. X. C. and 81272471 to H. Y. J.）, the Innovative Team of Peptide Drugs of Jilin Province （No. 20121807, Y. X. C.）, the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Prov- ince （No. 20140101042JC, Y. B. H.）, and a Basic Scientific Research Grants from Jilin University （Y. X. C. and Y. B. H）.
文摘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 a-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 activi- ties of o-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 substitu- tions. 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 Gram- positive 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 pep- tides with enhanced specificity.
