title: Gloverin, an antibacterial protein from the immune hemolymph of Hyalophora pupae.
abstract: Gloverin is an inducible antibacterial insect protein isolated from pupae of the giant silk moth Hyalophora. It is a basic (pI 8.5) protein with a molecular mass of 13.8 kDa, containing a large number of glycine residues (18.5%) but no cysteine, and has an amino acid sequence that reveals no strong degree of identity with any known proteins. Gloverin inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli at a minimal concentration of 1-3 microM, i.e. less than 5% of the concentration of gloverin in the hemolymph of infected pupae. The prime effect of gloverin, following its interaction with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the bacterial envelope, is a specific inhibition of the synthesis of vital outer membrane proteins, leading to an increased permeability of the outer membrane. The activity of gloverin is not affected by heating (100 degrees C, 10 min) but is inhibited by Mg2+ and by free LPS. The gloverin molecule will undergo conformational transitions from a monomeric random coil to an alpha-helix upon transfer from an aqueous to a hydrophobic environment, a property likely to be of importance for its interaction with cell-bound LPS. The activity of gloverin is in many respects similar to that of attacin, another antibacterial protein, originally found in Hyalophora [for a review see Boman, H. G., Faye, I., Gudmundsson, G. H., Lee, J.-Y. & Lindholm, D. A. (1991) Eur J. Biochem. 201, 23-31].
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Physiological Chemistry, Uppsala Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Axén
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlsson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engström
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bennich
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001410:Bacillus megaterium / Q000187:drug effects; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000737:chemistry*; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D008274:Magnesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D011679:Pupa
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D011506:Proteins; C107617:gloverin; D008274:Magnesium