title: Antibacterial and antimalarial properties of peptides that are cecropin-melittin hybrids.
abstract: Solid phase synthesis was used to produce 5 hybrid peptides containing sequences from the antibacterial peptide, cecropin A, and from the bee venom toxin, melittin. Four of these chimeric peptides showed good antibacterial activity against representative Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial species. The best hybrid, cecropin A(1-13)-melittin(1-13) was 100-fold more active than cecropin A against Staphylococcus aureus. It was also a 10-fold better antimalarial agent than cecropin B or magainin 2. Sheep red cells were lysed by melittin at low concentrations, but not by the hybrid molecules, even at 50 times higher concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Boman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Boman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wåhlin
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Merrifield
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000962:Antimalarials; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008555:Melitten / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000962:Antimalarials; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001514:Bee Venoms; D007301:Insect Hormones; D010455:Peptides; D008555:Melitten; C031161:cecropin A