title: Anti-chlamydial effect of plant peptides.
abstract: Even in asymptomatic cases of Chlamydia trachomatis infection, the aim of the antibiotic strategy is eradication of the pathogen so as to avoid the severe late sequelae, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal infertility. Although first-line antimicrobial agents have been demonstrated to be predominantly successful in the treatment of C. trachomatis infection, treatment failures have been observed in some cases. Rich source of antimicrobial peptides was recently discovered in Medicago species, which act in plants as differentiation factors of the endosymbiotic bacterium partner. Several of these symbiotic plant peptides have proved to be potent killers of various bacteria in vitro. We show here that 7 of 11 peptides tested exhibited antimicrobial activity against C. trachomatis D, and that the killing activity of these peptides is most likely due to their interaction with specific bacterial targets.
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Emese Petra
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Balogh
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Tímea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mosolygó
authors.affiliation: Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Hilda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiricz
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Agnes Míra
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Adrienn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karai
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Fanni
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kerekes
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Institute of Clinical Microbiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Dezső P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Virók
authors.affiliation: Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre Szeged Hungary Institut des Sciences du Végétal - CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette France.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kondorosi
authors.affiliation: University of Szeged Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Szeged Hungary.
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burián
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D046913:Medicago truncatula / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011485:Protein Binding
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Chlamydia; NCR peptide; antimicrobial