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How can a β‐sheet peptide be both a potent antimicrobial and harmfully toxic? Molecular dynamics simulations of protegrin‐1 in micelles
Author(s) -
Langham Allison A.,
Khandelia Himanshu,
Kaznessis Yiannis N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
peptide science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.20397
Subject(s) - micelle , chemistry , peptide , molecular dynamics , antimicrobial peptides , biophysics , membrane , amphiphile , antimicrobial , stereochemistry , combinatorial chemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , aqueous solution , computational chemistry , biology , polymer , copolymer
In this work, the naturally occurring β‐hairpin antimicrobial peptide protegrin‐1 (PG‐1) is studied by molecular dynamics simulation in all‐atom sodium dodecylsulfate and dodecylphosphocholine micelles. These simulations provide a high‐resolution picture of the interactions between the peptide and simple models of bacterial and mammalian membranes. Both micelles show significant disruption, as is expected for a peptide that is both active against bacteria and toxic to host cells. There is, however, clear differentiation between the behavior in SDS versus DPC, which suggests different mechanisms of interaction for PG‐1 with mammalian and bacterial membranes. Specifically, the equilibrium orientation of the peptide relative to SDS is a mirror image of its position relative to DPC. In both systems, the arginine residues of PG‐1 strongly interact with the head groups of the micelles. In DPC, the peptide prefers a location closer to the core of the micelle with Phe 12 , Val 14 , and Val 16 imbedded in the core and the other side of the hairpin, which includes Leu 5 and Tyr 7 , located closer to the surface of the micelle. In SDS, the peptide prefers a location at the micelle–water interface. The peptide position is reversed, with Leu 5 and Cys 6 imbedded furthest in the micelle core and Phe 12 , Val 14 , and Val 16 on the surface of the micelle. We discuss the implications of these results with respect to activity and toxicity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 84: 219–231, 2006 This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online” date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com