Primary Structure and Antibacterial Activity of Chicken Bone Marrow-Derived β-Defensins

Three biologically active beta-defensins were purified by chromatography from chicken bone marrow extract: avian beta-defensin 1 (AvBD1), AvBD2, and the newly isolated beta-defensin AvBD7. Mass spectrometry analyses showed that bone marrow-derived AvBD1, -2, and -7 peptides were present as mature peptides and revealed posttranslational modifications for AvBD1 and AvBD7 in comparison to their in silico-predicted amino acid sequences. Tandem mass spectrometry analysis using the nanoelectrospray-quadrupole time of flight method showed N-terminal glutaminyl cyclization of mature AvBD7 and C-terminal amidation of mature AvBD1 peptide, while posttranslational modifications were absent in bone marrow-derived mature AvBD2 peptide. Furthermore, mass spectrometry analysis performed on intact cells confirmed the presence of these three peptides in mature heterophils. In addition, the antibacterial activities of the three beta-defensins against a large panel of gram-positive and -negative bacteria were assessed. While the three defensins displayed similar antibacterial spectra of activity against gram-positive strains, AvBD1 and AvBD7 exhibited the strongest activity against gram-negative strains in comparison to AvBD2.