title: The effect of an adding histidine on biological activity and stability of Pc-pis from Pseudosciaena crocea.
abstract: Pc-pis is a novel piscidin-like antimicrobial polypeptide that was identified in Pseudosciaena crocea. Although active against most bacteria tested, Pc-pis was inactive against Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The Pc-pis analogue Pc-pis-His was designed by adding a histidine residue at the carboxyl terminal. Pc-pis-His demonstrated a more broad-spectrum and stronger antimicrobial activity against a representative set of microorganisms and more potent antiparasitic activity against Cryptocaryon irritans trophonts than Pc-pis. The stability assay revealed that Pc-pis-His was active against Staphylococcus aureus not only in acidic (pH 5.5-7.3) and relatively low concentration monovalent cation (0-160 mM NaCl) environments but also in alkaline (pH 7.5-9.5), divalent cation (1.25-160 mM MgCl2 and 1.25-40 mM CaCl2) and high concentration monovalent cation (320-2560 mM NaCl) environments, which indicates that the added histidine residue conferred better salt-, acid- and alkali-tolerance to Pc-pis-His. Pc-pis-His also possessed the desired heat-tolerance, which was reflected by the antimicrobial activity of the peptide after being boiled for 10-60 minutes. Hemolytic activity analysis revealed that Pc-pis-His at concentrations up to 6 µM exhibited no hemolysis against human erythrocytes, with 6 µM being a concentration that is highly active against most of the microorganisms tested, although the hemolytic activity of Pc-pis-His was enhanced compared to Pc-pis. These results provide a unique, reasonable basis for designing novel piscidins with potent, broad-spectrum and stable antimicrobial activity and new insight into the future development of piscidins as potential therapeutic agents against microbial and external protozoan parasite infections.
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Sufang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Yongquan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Shengping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D016980:Aeromonas hydrophila / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics*; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006639:Histidine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D055550:Protein Stability; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000254:growth & development*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029941:Fish Proteins; D006639:Histidine