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Antimicrobial activity, bactericidal mechanism and LPS‐neutralizing activity of the cell‐penetrating peptide p VEC and its analogs
Author(s) -
Nan Yong Hai,
Park IlSeon,
Hahm KyungSoo,
Shin Song Yub
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of peptide science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1387
pISSN - 1075-2617
DOI - 10.1002/psc.1408
Subject(s) - magainin , antimicrobial , peptide , lipopolysaccharide , antimicrobial peptides , chemistry , bacteria , depolarization , liposome , hemolysis , biochemistry , cell penetrating peptide , bacterial outer membrane , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , biology , escherichia coli , immunology , genetics , gene
p VEC is a cell‐penetrating peptide derived from the murine vascular endothelial‐cadherin protein. To evaluate the potential of p VEC as antimicrobial peptide (AMP), we synthesized p VEC and its analogs with Trp and Arg/Lys substitution, and their antimicrobial and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐neutralizing activities were investigated. p VEC and its analogs displayed a potent antimicrobial activity (minimal inhibitory concentration: 4–16 μM) against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria but no or less hemolytic activity (less than 10% hemolysis) even at a concentration of 200 μM. These peptides induced a near‐complete membrane depolarization (more than 80%) at 4 μM against Staphylococcus aureus and a significant dye leakage (35–70%) from bacterial membrane‐mimicking liposome at a concentration as low as 1 μM. The fluorescence profiles of p VEC and its analogs in dye leakage from liposome and membrane depolarization were similar to those of a frog‐derived AMP, magainin 2. These results suggest that p VEC and its analogs kill bacteria by forming a pore or ion channel in the cytoplasmic membrane. p VEC and its analogs significantly inhibited nitric oxide production or tumor necrosis factor‐α release in LPS‐stimulated mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells at 10 to 50 μM, in which RAW264.7 were not damaged. Taken together, our results suggest that p VEC and its analogs with potent antimicrobial and LPS‐neutralizing activities can serve as AMPs for the treatment of microbial infection and sepsis. Copyright © 2011 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.