Anti-Candida activity of 1–18 fragment of the frog skin peptide esculentin-1b: in vitro and in vivo studies in a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model

Luca, Vincenzo; Olivi, Massimiliano; Grazia, Antonio Di; Palleschi, Claudio; Uccelletti, Daniela; Mangoni, Maria Luisa

doi:10.1007/s00018-013-1500-4

Cited by 18 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…In both cases, the software predictions for the almost central residue G8 had a low consensus (and were not included in Figure 1), suggesting a flexible kink that divides the peptide sequence into two helical fragments. However, in the case of pure DPC micelles, the residue S4, which is exactly in the middle of the N-terminal fragment, was predicted to have / values not compatible with an -helix (Figure 1c), thus suggesting a regular secondary structure only for the C-terminal fragment. Figure 2 summarizes the sequential NOEs unambiguously identified for Esc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) in the presence of either DPC or DPC/SDS micelles. Figure S1 show the H-HN region of the NOESY spectra.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This particular DPC/SDS molar ratio was chosen to be close to that between zwitterionic and negatively charged lipids typical for the inner membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. 25 Table S1 reports the 1 H and 13 C resonance assignments for Esc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) in the presence of either DPC or DPC/SDS micelles, obtained through a set of two-dimensional homo-and heteronuclear experiments, namely, DQF-COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, and HSQC. Figures 1a and 1b show the deviations of the observed chemical shifts from the reference "random coil" values for 1 H and 13 C, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,2 Clinical impact of antibiotic resistance is immense, with increasing length of hospital stay, costs and mortality. 3,4 Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have attracted the interest of the scientific community as promising candidates for the development of a new class of antimicrobial drugs. They are part of the innate immune system of the majority of the multicellular organisms, and are typically characterized by a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity, from Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, protozoa and enveloped viruses.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 A globally amphipathic structure was found, with a helical conformation for the N-terminal portion (encompassing the first 12 residues) and an unfolded C-terminal fragment. 23 However, as the H 2 O/TFE solvent is an isotropic environment, such a structural model for Esc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) should be taken with caution. Despite promoting peptide folding by favoring intramolecular H-bonds, indeed, H 2 O/TFE mixtures inherently lack the intrinsic anisotropic character of a lipid bilayer.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In particular, both zwitterionic and negatively charged micelles have been employed to model eukaryotic and prokaryotic plasma membrane, respectively, as bacterial membranes are usually characterized by a higher content of negatively charged lipids than the former. 6,12,13 The insertion depth of Esc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) into the micelles was estimated by using Mn 2+ ions as a paramagnetic probe. The results clearly confirm the helical folding of Esc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) and show how binding and folding are prominent only in the presence of a negatively charged membrane.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Folded Structure and Insertion Depth of the Frog-Skin Antimicrobial Peptide Esculentin-1b(1–18) in the Presence of Differently Charged Membrane-Mimicking Micelles

Manzo¹,

Casu²,

Rinaldi³

et al. 2014

J. Nat. Prod.

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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effectors of the innate immunity of most organisms. Their role in the defense against pathogen attack and their high selectivity for bacterial cells make them attractive for the development of a new class of antimicrobial drugs. The N-terminal fragment of the frog-skin peptide esculentin-1b (Esc(1-18)) has shown broad spectrum antimicrobial activity.Similarly to most cationic AMPs, it is supposed to act by binding to and damaging the negatively charged plasma-membrane of bacteria. Differently from many other AMPs, Esc(1-18) activity is preserved in biological fluids such as serum. In this work, a structural investigation was performed through NMR spectroscopy. The 3D structure was obtained in the presence of either zwitterionic or negatively charged micelles as membrane models for eukaryotic and prokaryotic membranes, respectively. Esc(1-18) showed a higher affinity for and deeper insertion into the latter, and adopted an amphipathic helical structure characterized by a kink at the residue G8. These findings were confirmed by measuring penetration into lipid monolayers. The presence of negatively charged lipids in the bilayer appears to be necessary for Esc(1-18) to bind, fold in the right threedimensional structure and, ultimately, to exert its biological role as an AMP. 3The lack of a new class of antibiotics is an urgent problem, as many important pathogens are rapidly developing resistance to most of the clinically usable antibiotics. 1,2 Clinical impact of antibiotic resistance is immense, with increasing length of hospital stay, costs and mortality. 3,4 Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have attracted the interest of the scientific community as promising candidates for the development of a new class of antimicrobial drugs. They are part of the innate immune system of the majority of the multicellular organisms, and are typically characterized by a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity, from Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, protozoa and enveloped viruses. [5][6][7] Despite amino acid sequence homology is not high, AMPs share some common features. They are relatively short (< 60 residues), cationic, have a large content (≥ 50%) of hydrophobic residues and adopt an amphipathic three-dimensional folding when interacting with pathogens" membranes. 6 Generally, AMPs destroy or permeate the microbial plasma-membrane. The membrane is formed through evolutionarily well conserved biosynthetic processes and represents a non-selective target, making modifications by the microorganisms difficult and, thus, resistance onset is unlikely. 8 Several recent articles have reviewed in detail the different modes of action postulated for AMPs. [9][10][11] The amphipathic conformation adopted by the AMP, with the hydrophilic residues interacting with the polar head groups of the phospholipids and the water molecules, and the hydrophobic residues being protected from water contacts by inserting into the lipid bilayer core, is considered essential for it to exert the antimicro...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Folded Structure and Insertion Depth of the Frog-Skin Antimicrobial Peptide Esculentin-1b(1–18) in the Presence of Differently Charged Membrane-Mimicking Micelles

Manzo¹,

Casu²,

Rinaldi³

et al. 2014

J. Nat. Prod.

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From liposomes to cells: Filling the gap between physicochemical and microbiological studies of the activity and selectivity of host‐defense peptides

et al. 2018

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Host‐defense peptides (HPDs) are bactericidal and immunomodulatory molecules, part of the innate immune system of many organisms, including man. They kill bacteria mostly by perturbing their membranes, and for this reason they are a promising class of molecules to fight drug‐resistant microbes. However, their success towards clinical application is still limited, partly due to many unanswered questions on their activity and function. Our current understanding of HDPs has been reached by two parallel, but largely independent, approaches: microbiological studies on HDP effects on cells, and physicochemical investigations on model membranes. All current models for the mechanisms of HDP membrane perturbation and cell selectivity were derived from the latter kind of studies, but their relevance for real cells still had to be demonstrated. In the last few years, several studies led to quantitative insights into HDP behavior directly in cells: membrane‐binding and peptide‐induced pores in bacteria and liposomes were compared; the number of cell‐bound peptide molecules needed to kill a bacterium was determined; the variation of peptide activity and toxicity with the density of cells was characterized; selectivity was examined in a mixture of target and host cells; the sequence of events leading to bacterial death was observed in real time by microscopy on single cells. Overall, these approaches led to a new understanding of HDPs that will be helpful for their development into effective antibiotic drugs.

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d-Amino acids incorporation in the frog skin-derived peptide esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 is beneficial for its multiple functions

et al. 2015

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Naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent promising future antibiotics. We have previously isolated esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2, a short peptide derived from the frog skin AMP esculentin-1a, with a potent anti-Pseudomonal activity. Here, we investigated additional functions of the peptide and properties responsible for these activities. For that purpose, we synthesized the peptide, as well as its structurally altered analog containing two D-amino acids. The peptides were then biophysically and biologically investigated for their cytotoxicity and immunomodulating activities. The data revealed that compared to the wild-type, the diastereomer: (1) is significantly less toxic towards mammalian cells, in agreement with its lower α-helical structure, as determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy; (2) is more effective against the biofilm form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (responsible for lung infections in cystic fibrosis sufferers), while maintaining a high activity against the free-living form of this important pathogen; (3) is more stable in serum; (4) has a higher activity in promoting migration of lung epithelial cells, and presumably in healing damaged lung tissue, and (5) disaggregates and detoxifies the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), albeit less than the wild-type. Light scattering studies revealed a correlation between anti-LPS activity and the ability to disaggregate the LPS. Besides shedding light on the multifunction properties of esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2, the D-amino acid containing isomer may serve as an attractive template for the development of new anti-Pseudomonal compounds with additional beneficial properties. Furthermore, together with other studies, incorporation of D-amino acids may serve as a general approach to optimize the future design of new AMPs.

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Anti-Candida activity of 1–18 fragment of the frog skin peptide esculentin-1b: in vitro and in vivo studies in a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model

Cited by 18 publications

References 75 publications

Folded Structure and Insertion Depth of the Frog-Skin Antimicrobial Peptide Esculentin-1b(1–18) in the Presence of Differently Charged Membrane-Mimicking Micelles

Folded Structure and Insertion Depth of the Frog-Skin Antimicrobial Peptide Esculentin-1b(1–18) in the Presence of Differently Charged Membrane-Mimicking Micelles

From liposomes to cells: Filling the gap between physicochemical and microbiological studies of the activity and selectivity of host‐defense peptides

d-Amino acids incorporation in the frog skin-derived peptide esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 is beneficial for its multiple functions

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