ABSTRACT
Increased microbial drug resistance has generated a global requirement for new anti-infective agents. As part of an effort to develop new, low-molecular-mass peptide antibiotics, we used a rationale-based minimalist approach to design short, nonhemolytic, potent, and broad-spectrum antibiotic peptides with increased serum stability. These peptides were designed to attain an amphipathic structure in helical conformations. VS1 was used as the lead compound, and its properties were compared with three series of derivates obtained by (i) N-terminal amino acid addition, (ii) systematic Trp substitution, and (iii) peptide dendrimerization. The Trp substitution approach underlined the optimized sequence of VS2 in terms of potency, faster membrane permeation, and cost-effectiveness. VS2 (a variant of VS1 with two Trp substitutions) was found to exhibit good antimicrobial activity against both the Gram-negative
Escherichia coli
and the Gram-positive bacterium
Staphylococcus aureus
. It was also found to have noncytolytic activity and the ability to permeate and depolarize the bacterial membrane. Lysis of the bacterial cell wall and inner membrane by the peptide was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. A combination of small size, the presence of unnatural amino acids, high antimicrobial activity, insignificant hemolysis, and proteolytic resistance provides fundamental information for the
de novo
design of an antimicrobial peptide useful for the management of infectious disease.
摘要
微
生物耐药性的增加催生了全球对新型抗感染药物的需求。作为开发新型低分子质量
多肽抗生素努力的一部分,我们采用基于理性的极简方法设计出了短小、不溶血、强效、广谱且血清稳定性更高的抗生素
多肽。这些
多肽被设计成螺旋构象的两性结构。以 VS1 为先导化合物,将其特性与通过以下方法获得的三个系列衍
生物进行了比较:(i) N 端
氨基酸添加;(ii) 系统性 Trp 取代;(iii) 肽树枝化。Trp 取代方法强调了 VS2 在效力、更快的膜渗透性和成本效益方面的优化序列。研究发现,VS2(VS1 的变体,有两个 Trp 取代)对革兰氏阴性的
大肠杆菌
和革兰氏阳性细菌
金黄色葡萄球菌
.研究还发现它具有非细胞溶解活性以及渗透和去极化细菌膜的能力。透射电子显微镜证实了该肽对细菌细胞壁和内膜的裂解作用。小尺寸、非天然
氨基酸的存在、高抗菌活性、微量溶血和抗蛋白
水解等特性为
从头
为从头设计一种可用于治疗传染病的抗菌肽提供了基本信息。