title: Antimicrobial activity of pleurocidin is retained in Plc-2, a C-terminal 12-amino acid fragment.
abstract: An analysis of a series of five peptides composed of various portions of the pleurocidin (Plc) sequence identified a l2-amino acid fragment from the C-terminus of Plc, designated Plc-2, as the smallest fragment that retained a antimicrobial activity comparable to that of the parent compound. MIC tests in vitro with low-ionic-strength medium showed that Plc-2 has potent activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus but not against Enterococcus faecalis. The antifungal activity of the synthetic peptides against phytopathogenic fungi, such as Fusarium oxysporum, Colletotrichum sp., Aspergillus niger and Alternaria sp., also identified Plc-2 as a biologically active peptide. Microscopy studies of fluorescently stained fungi treated with Plc-2 demonstrated that cytoplasmic and nuclear membranes were compromised in all strains of phytopathogenic fungi tested. Together, these results identify Plc-2 as a potential antimicrobial agent with similar properties to its parent compound, pleurocidin. In addition, it demonstrated that the KHVGKAALTHYL residues are critical for the antimicrobial activity described for pleurocidin.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Science and Technology on Innovation on Neglected Diseases (INCT-IDN)/Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andre L A
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Díaz-Dellavalle
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Larrañaga
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dalla-Rizza
authors.forename: Salvatore G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: De-Simone
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005432:Flounder; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D029941:Fish Proteins; D010455:Peptides; C105851:pleurocidin