title: Role of proline, cysteine and a disulphide bridge in the structure and activity of the anti-microbial peptide gaegurin 5.
abstract: Gaegurin 5 (GGN5) is a cationic 24-residue anti-microbial peptide isolated from the skin of a Korean frog, Rana rugosa. It contains a central proline residue and an intra-residue disulphide bridge in its C-terminus, which are common to the anti-microbial peptides found in Ranidae. We determined the solution structure of GGN5 bound to SDS micelles for the first time and investigated the role of proline, cysteine and a disulphide bridge on the structure and activity of GGN5. GGN5 adopts an amphipathic alpha-helical structure spanning residues 3-20 kinked around Pro-14, which allows the hydrophobic residues to reside in the concave helical region, and a disulphide-bridged loop-like conformation in its C-terminus. By replacement of proline with alanine (PAGGN5), a straight and rigid helix was formed in the central region and was more stable than the kinked helix. Reduction of a disulphide bridge in the C-terminus (GGN5SH) maintained the loosely ordered loop-like conformation, while the replacement of two cysteines with serines (CSGGN5) caused the C-terminal conformation to be completely disordered. The magnitude of anti-microbial activity of the peptides was closely related to their helical stability in the order PAGGN5>GGN5>GGN5SH>CSGGN5, suggesting that the helical stability of the peptides is important for anti-microbial activity. On the other hand, the significant increase of haemolytic activity of PAGGN5 implies that a helical kink of GGN5 could be involved in the selectivity of target cells. The location of GGN5 and PAGGN5, analysed using paramagnetic probes, was mainly at the surface of SDS micelles, although the location of the N-terminal region was slightly different between them.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hyung-Eun
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chi-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee-Jeong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Eung-Chil
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Bong-Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000577:Amides / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry*; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008823:Micelles; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010455:Peptides; D011392:Proline / Q000737:chemistry*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D004220:Disulfides; D008823:Micelles; D010455:Peptides; D011498:Protein Precursors; C096397:gaegurin 5; D011392:Proline; D003545:Cysteine