title: Membrane association, electrostatic sequestration, and cytotoxicity of Gly-Leu-rich peptide orthologs with differing functions.
abstract: The skins of closely related frog species produce Gly-Leu-rich peptide orthologs that have very similar sequences, hydrophobicities, and amphipathicities but differ markedly in their net charge and membrane-damaging properties. Cationic Gly-Leu-rich peptides are hemolytic and very potent against microorganisms. Peptides with no net charge have only hemolytic activity. We have used ancestral protein reconstruction and peptide analogue design to examine the roles of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in the biological activity and mode of action of functionally divergent Gly-Leu-rich peptides. The structure and interaction of the peptides with anionic and zwitterionic model membranes were investigated by circular dichroism with 2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine or 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylglycerol vesicles and surface plasmon resonance with immobilized bilayers. The results, combined with antimicrobial assays, the kinetics of bacterial killing, and membrane permeabilization assays, reveal that Gly, Val, Thr, and Ile can all be accommodated in an amphipathic alpha helix when the helix is in a membrane environment. Binding to anionic and zwitterionic membranes fitted to a 2-stage interaction model (adsorption to the membrane followed by membrane insertion). The first step is governed by hydrophobic interactions between the nonpolar surface of the peptide helix and the membranes. The strong binding of Gly-Leu-rich cationic peptides to anionic membranes is due to the second binding step and involves short-range Coulombic interactions that prolong the residence time of the membrane-inserted peptide. The data demonstrate that evolution has positively selected charge-altering nucleotide substitutions to generate an orthologous cationic variant of neutral hemolytic peptides that bind to and permeate bacterial cell membranes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Bioactivation des Peptides, Institut Jacques Monod, 2 Place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vanhoye
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bruston
authors.forename: Shaharazade
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Amri
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ladram
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiche
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nicolas
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001001:Anura; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002412:Cations; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005998:Glycine / Q000737:chemistry*; D006461:Hemolysis; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D007930:Leucine / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010452:Peptide Biosynthesis; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D055672:Static Electricity; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002412:Cations; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010455:Peptides; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols; D007930:Leucine; D005998:Glycine