Abstract
To investigate the effects of positive charge and hydrophobicity on the cell selectivity, mechanism of action and anti-inflammatory activity of a Trp-rich antimicrobial peptide indolicidin (IN), a series of IN analogs with Trp→Lys substitution were synthesized. All IN analogs displayed an approximately 7- to 18-fold higher cell selectivity, compared with IN. IN, IN-1 and IN-2 depolarized (50-90%) the cytoplasmic membrane potential of Staphylococcus aureus close to minimal inhibitory concentration (5-10 μg mL-1). However, other IN analogs (IN-3 and IN-4) displayed very low ability in membrane depolarization even at 40 μg mL-1. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy revealed that IN-3 and IN-4 penetrated the Escherichia coli cell membrane, whereas IN, IN-1 and IN-2 did not enter the cell membrane. In the gel retardation assay, IN-3 and IN-4 bound more strongly to DNA compared with IN, IN-1 and IN-2. These findings suggest that the mechanism of antimicrobial action of IN-3 and IN-4 may be involved in the inhibition of intracellular functions via interference with DNA/RNA synthesis. Unlike IN, all IN analogs did not inhibit nitric oxide production or inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells, indicating that the hydrophobicity of IN is more important for anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-treated macrophage cells than the positive charge.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 134-140 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | FEMS Microbiology Letters |
Volume | 292 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Antimicrobial peptide
- Cell selectivity
- Hydrophobicity
- Indolicidin
- Mechanism of action
- Positive charge