title: Optimization of the antimicrobial activity of magainin peptides by modification of charge.
abstract: Investigation of magainin II amide analogs with cationic charges ranging between +3 and +7 showed that enhancement of the peptide charge up to a threshold value of +5 and conservation of appropriate hydrophobic properties optimized the antimicrobial activity and selectivity. High selectivity was the result of both enhanced antimicrobial and reduced hemolytic activity. Charge increase beyond +5 with retention of other structural motifs led to a dramatic increase of hemolytic activity and loss of antimicrobial selectivity. Selectivity could be restored by reduction of the hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic helix surface (H(hd)), a structural parameter not previously considered to modulate activity. Dye release experiments with lipid vesicles revealed that the potential of peptide charge to modulate membrane activity is limited: on highly negatively charged 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidyl-DL-glycerol bilayers, reinforcement of electrostatic interactions had an activity-reducing effect. On neutral 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers, the high activity was determined by H(hd). H(hd) values above a certain threshold led to effective permeabilization of all lipid systems and even compensated for the activity-reducing effect of charge increase on highly negatively charged membranes.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Molecular Pharmacology, Robert-Rössle Str. 10, D-13125 Berlin, Germany. dathe@fmp-berlin.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dathe
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nikolenko
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beyermann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bienert
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001665:Binding Sites; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D054806:Magainins; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010539:Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D011487:Protein Conformation; D029867:Xenopus Proteins
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D054806:Magainins; D010455:Peptides; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C053301:magainin 2 peptide, Xenopus