Structure-activity relationships of antimicrobial peptides from the skin of Rana esculenta inhabiting in Korea.
The anuran (frogs and toads) skin is a rich source of antimicrobial peptides that can be developed therapeutically. We searched the skin secretions of Korean Rana esculenta for antimicrobial peptides, and isolated two cationic peptides with antimicrobial activity and little hemolytic activity: a 46-residue peptide of the esculentin-1 family and a 24-residue peptide of the brevinin-1 family. Their sequences showed some differences from the esculentins-1 and brevinins-1 of European Rana esculenta, indicating that sequence diversification of anuran skin antimicrobial peptides can arise from differences in habitat as well as from species differences. The 46-residue peptide named esculentin-1c had broad antimicrobial activity, while the 24-residue peptide named brevinin-1Ed exhibited limited activity. The solution structure of brevinin-1Ed was in good agreement with that of other brevinin-1-like peptides, with an amphipathic alpha-helix spanning residues 3-20, stabilized in membrane-mimetic environments. The weak bioactivity of brevinin-1Ed was attributable to the unusual presence of an anionic amino acid in the middle of the helical hydrophilic face. This report contributes to world-wide investigations of the structure-activity relationships and evolutional diversification of anuran-skin antimicrobial peptides.
Won
Hyung-Sik
HS
National Research Laboratory (MPS), College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Kim
Sukwon S
SS
Jung
Seo-Jeong
SJ
Son
Woo-Sung
WS
Lee
Byeongjae
B
Lee
Bong-Jin
BJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029845:Amphibian Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011893:Rana esculenta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D029845:Amphibian Proteins; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; C078413:brevinin-1 protein, Rana