Spermicidal bacteriocins: lacticin 3147 and subtilosin A.
Spermicidal compounds that also exhibit antimicrobial properties would be extremely attractive agents as they could be used to not only prevent unwanted pregnancy but also to combat the growing prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI). One class of compounds that are potential candidates for development of dual-acting contraceptive products are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Herein, we report preliminary studies carried out to investigate the spermicidal activity of two bacteriocins, lacticin 3147 and subtilosin A, on bovine, horse/pony, boar and rat sperm.
Silkin
Lara
L
Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada T6G 2G2.
Hamza
Shereen
S
Kaufman
Susan
S
Cobb
Steven L
SL
Vederas
John C
JC
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle; D015195:Drug Design; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009561:Nisin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D013089:Spermatocidal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001430:Bacteriocins; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D013089:Spermatocidal Agents; C082508:lacticin 481; D009561:Nisin; C047828:sboA protein, Bacillus subtilis