Protective effects of antimicrobial peptides derived from the beetle Allomyrina dichotoma defensin on endotoxic shock in mice

Synthetic peptides, Arg-Leu-Tyr-Leu-Arg-Ile-Gly-Arg-Arg-NH2 (peptide A) and Arg-Leu-Arg-Leu-Arg-Ile-Gly-Arg-Arg-NH2 (peptide B), derived from the beetle Allomyrina dichotoma defensin, have not only antimicrobial activities but also anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting tumour necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) production. In the present study, we evaluated the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding activities and the protective effects of these peptides on LPS-induced lethal shock in d-galactosamine (GalN)-sensitized mice. These peptides were shown to bind to erythrocytes coated with LPS and the binding activity of peptide A to LPS was significantly higher than those of peptide B and polymyxin B. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with peptide A or B at doses of 25, 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg before an injection of Salmonella abortusequi LPS (5 microg/kg) and GalN (1 g/kg) (LPS+GalN). All of wild-type mice died within 24 h after challenged with LPS+GalN. All of TNF-alpha-deficient mice challenged with LPS+GalN survived. An injection of peptide A immediately after challenge with LPS+GalN resulted in significantly improved survival rates in a dose dependent manner. Peptide B showed only minor protection. The levels of TNF-alpha in the ameliorated mice by peptide A were significantly lower than those of challenge control, suggesting a suppressive effect of peptide A on TNF-alpha production. Furthermore, peptide A-treated mice showed significantly lower levels of asparate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase when compared to challenge control. Concordantly, hemorrhage and necrosis in the liver of peptide A-treated mice were less apparent than those of untreated control mice. These results suggest that peptide A has a protective effect on LPS-induced mortality in this mouse model.     

T cell mitogenicity of a novel beta-D-galactoside-specific lectin from the beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma (allo A)

We examined the lymphocyte mitogenicity of a novel beta-D-galactoside-specific lectin from the beetle Allomyrina dichotoma, named allo A. Allo A was mitogenic to spleen cells of various strains of mice and rats and to human peripheral blood lymphocytes. When the selectivity of mitogenicity to T or B lymphocytes was examined with mouse spleen cells, allo A was selectively mitogenic to T-enriched spleen cells, which indicates that allo A is a T cell mitogen. Thymocytes from non-treated mice hardly responded to allo A, while those from cortisone-treated mice did to a great extent, indicating that allo A is mitogenic to mature thymocytes. The lymphocyte activation with allo A was inhibited by lactose, but not by melibiose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, or methyl-alpha-D-mannoside, which suggests that cell surface molecules containing beta-D-galactosyl residues are of importance in the structure of allo A receptors on the cell surface.     

Development of short antimicrobial peptides derived from host defense peptides or by combinatorial libraries

Recent increase of antibiotic-resistant pathogens demands exploration of novel antimicrobial molecules with unexploited mechanisms. Several hundred host defense peptides have been isolated from natural sources and their functions characterized. As host defense peptides have several advantages over classic antibiotics for resistant pathogens, there are many efforts to develop host defense peptides as therapeutic agents. In this review, focusing on the development of short antimicrobial peptides (< or = 18-mer), several examples are introduced that identify the active fragment from cyclic host peptides, or novel antimicrobial peptides derived from combinatorial libraries. Moreover, structure-activity relationships of short antimicrobial peptides are discussed, and several methods for improving bioavailability as well as specificity of the peptides, such as D-amino acid replacements, unnatural amino acid replacements, and backbone modifications, are discussed.     

Convergent evolution-guided design of antimicrobial peptides derived from influenza A virus hemagglutinin

Antimicrobial activity and solution structures of four 13-amino acid peptides derived from the fusion domain of viral hemagglutinin proteins are presented. The results show that carboxyl-terminal amidation is a key factor to switch a viral fusion domain-derived sequence into an antimicrobial peptide. Optimization of amphiphilic balance on the amidated analogue largely improves efficacy and enlarges antimicrobial spectra of these peptides. Our work indicates that viral fusion domains have potential to be engineered into potent antimicrobial peptides.     

A defensin antimicrobial peptide from the venoms of Nasonia vitripennis

Although many antimicrobial components (i.e. antimicrobial peptides) have been found in many social Hymenoptera venoms, no antimicrobial compound is purified and characterized from parasitic Hymenoptera. From the venoms of the ectoparasitic wasp, Nasonia vitripennis, a defensin-like antimicrobial peptide named defensin-NV was purified and characterized. Defensin-NV is composed of 52 amino acid residues including 6 cysteines forming 3 disulfide bridges. Its amino acid sequence is VTCELLMFGGVVGDSACAANCLSMGKAGGSCNGGLCDCRKTTFKELWDKRFG. By BLAST search, defensin-NV showed significant sequence similarity to other insect defensin antimicrobial peptides. Defensin-NV exerted strong antimicrobial activity against tested microorganisms including Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The cDNA encoding defensin-NV was cloned from the venom reservoir cDNA library of N. vitripennis. The current work firstly purified and characterized an antimicrobial peptide from parasitic Hymenoptera.     

Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract and compounds from Polygonum limbatum

The present study was designed to investigate the antimicrobial activity and the cytotoxicity of the methanol extract (PLA) as well as fractions (PLA1-4) and compounds [cardamomin (1), (±)-polygohomoisoflavanone (2), (S)-(-)-pinostrobin (3), 2',4'-dihydroxy-3',6'-dimethoxychalcone (4), (2S)-(-)-5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavanone (5), and (2S)-(-)-5,7-dimethoxyflavanone (6)] obtained from leaves of Polygonum limbatum. The microbroth dilution was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the samples against 11 microbial strains including Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), S.epidermidis, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The sulphorhodamine B cell growth inhibition assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity of the above samples on lung A549 adenocarcinoma, breast carcinoma MCF-7, prostate carcinoma PC-3, cervical carcinoma HeLa, and the acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1. The results of the MIC determination indicated that, apart from fraction PLA3, all other fractions as well as PLA and compound 3 were selectively active. MIC values were noted on 100 % of the 11 tested microorganisms for fraction PLA3, 72.7 % for PLA, fraction PLA2, and compound 4, 63.6 % for PLA1, and 54.5 % for fraction PLA4. The results of the cytotoxicity assay revealed that, except for A459 cells, more than 50 % inhibition of the proliferation was obtained with each of the tested samples on at least one of the four other cell lines. IC?? values below 4 μg/mL were obtained with 1 and 4 on THP-1 cells. The overall results of the present study provided baseline information for the possible use of Polygonum limbatum as well as some of the isolated compounds for the control of cancer diseases and mostly leukemia.     

Isolation and characterisation of antimicrobial peptides from deer neutrophils

The New Zealand deer industry is the largest and most advanced in the world. Antimicrobial peptides have been isolated from a wide range of organisms, but as yet there have been no reports on any from deer. This work investigates the antimicrobial activity and characterisation of peptides isolated from Cervus elaphus blood. It was found that deer blood contains proline/arginine-rich cathelicidins, similar to Bac5 peptides isolated from cattle, sheep and goats. A beta-defensin was also isolated that had a conserved amino acid sequence and mass similar to bovine neutrophil beta-defensins. The cathelicidin displayed strong activity against Gram-negative bacteria, but lesser activity against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast, whilst the beta-defensin showed good activity against all three test organisms.     

Synthetic mimics of antimicrobial peptides from triaryl scaffolds

In this report, we describe the synthesis of a new series of small amphiphilic aromatic compounds that mimic the essential properties of cationic antimicrobial peptides using Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. The new design allowed the easy tuning of the conformational restriction, controlled by introduction of intramolecular hydrogen bonds, and the overall hydrophobicity by modifications to the central ring and the side chains. This approach allowed us to better understand the influence of these features on the antimicrobial activity and selectivity. We found that the overall hydrophobicity had a more significant impact on antimicrobial and hemolytic activity than the conformational stiffness. A novel compound was discovered which has MICs of 0.78 μg/mL against S. Aureus and 6.25 μg/mL against E. Coli, similar to the well-known antimicrobial peptide, MSI-78.     

Cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of newly synthesized fucoidan-coated nanoparticles

The aim was to synthesize and characterize fucoidan-coated poly(isobutylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared by anionic emulsion polymerization (AEP) and by redox radical emulsion polymerization (RREP) of isobutylcyanoacrylate using fucoidan as a new coating material. The nanoparticles were characterized, and their cytotoxicity was evaluated in vitro on J774 macrophage and NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell lines. Cellular uptake of labeled nanoparticles was investigated by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Results showed that both methods were suitable to prepare stable formulations of fucoidan-coated PIBCA nanoparticles. Stable dispersions of nanoparticles were obtained by AEP with up to 100% fucoidan as coating material. By the RREP method, stable suspensions of nanoparticles were obtained with only up to 25% fucoidan in a blend of polysaccharide composed of dextran and fucoidan. The zeta potential of fucoidan-coated nanoparticles was decreased depending on the percentage of fucoidan. It reached the value of −44 mV for nanoparticles prepared by AEP with 100% of fucoidan. Nanoparticles made by AEP appeared more than four times more cytotoxic (IC₅₀ below 2 μg/mL) on macrophages J774 than nanoparticles made by RREP (IC₅₀ above 9 μg/mL). In contrast, no significant difference in cytotoxicity was highlighted by incubation of the nanoparticles with a fibroblast cell line. On fibroblasts, both types of nanoparticles showed similar cytotoxicity. Confocal fluorescence microscopy observations revealed that all types of nanoparticles were taken up by both cell lines. The distribution of the fluorescence in the cells varied greatly with the type of nanoparticles.     

鲎源抗菌肽的制备及药用价值研究进展*

鲎源抗菌肽是一类来源于海洋珍贵的药源生物鲎血淋巴内的具有抗菌活性的多肽物质，在鲎天然免疫中起到至关重要的作用，它对外源病原菌的抗菌作用，降低了鲎自身的致病性，增强了鲎的天然免疫能力。鲎源抗菌肽与其他来源的抗菌肽相比有许多优势。现对鲎源抗菌肽的生物活性、分子结构、基因序列以及制备方法进行综述，并对其潜在药用价值进行了论述。     

抗菌肽开发与应用的研究进展

抗菌肽是一类普遍存在于生物体内的阳离子两亲性多肽,是机体免疫防御的重要组成部分,具有抗菌谱广、作用强且迅速、不易产生耐药等众多优点.随着多药耐药菌临床感染的日趋加重,抗菌肽引起了人们的广泛关注,成为一类极具开发潜力的新型抗感染制剂.但生产成本高、毒副作用大和体内药动学资料匮乏严重制约了抗菌肽的开发和应用.针对上述瓶颈,国内外进行了大量的研究,已取得显著的成果.本文主要针对抗菌肽的作用特点、作用机制、研究现状,及其在医药领域中的应用前景和存在问题进行综述.     

大鲵皮肤分泌液中抗菌肽的鉴定及生物活性研究

目的鉴定大鲵皮肤分泌液中抗菌肽,研究其部分生物活性。方法 5%醋酸浸提和Sephadex G-50、G-25凝胶过滤色谱等方法分离纯化抗菌肽;采用抑菌圈法检测抗菌活性,Tricine-SDS-PAGE电泳和等电聚焦电泳鉴定其抗菌活性成份。结果大鲵皮肤分泌液中含有抗菌活性物质。对革兰阴性菌、革兰阳性菌和真菌均具有较强的抗菌活性;电泳检测显示该小分子多肽相对分子质量约为4 300,具有较强的碱性。结论首次从大鲵皮肤分泌液中分离纯化到一种抗菌肽,此抗菌肽可能是一个具有较强阳离子特征的碱性肽。     

Renal uptake and metabolism of radiopharmaceuticals derived from peptides and proteins

Radiolabeled anti-CD20 antibodies have demonstrated impressive efficacy in the treatment of relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This encourages the treatment of solid tumor with radiolabeled antibody fragments and peptides. However, both preclinical and clinical studies revealed that persistent localization of radioactivity in the kidney constitutes a major obstacle that compromises therapeutic efficacy. Recent extensive studies show that long residence times of radiolabeled end products from lysosomes are responsible for the renal radioactivity levels. Recent studies have also elucidated the involvement of megalin-cubilin in renal tubular reabsorption of radiolabeled antibody fragments and peptides. In light of these findings, efforts are being made to block tubular reabsorption of radiolabeled antibody fragments and peptides by competitive inhibitors, charge modification, and PEGylation. An interposition of an enzyme-cleavable linkage between antibody fragments and radiolabels would constitute an alternative approach to reduce renal radioactivity levels. Recent findings of these studies will be described.     

Nanotools for the delivery of antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptide drugs are increasingly attractive therapeutic agents as their roles in physiopathological processes are being unraveled and because the development of recombinant DNA technology has made them economically affordable in large amounts and high purity. However, due to lack of specificity regarding the target cells, difficulty in attaining them, or reduced half-lives, most current administration methods require high doses. On the other hand, reduced specificity of toxic drugs demands low concentrations to minimize undesirable side-effects, thus incurring the risk of having sublethal amounts which favour the appearance of resistant microbial strains. In this scenario, targeted delivery can fulfill the objective of achieving the intake of total quantities sufficiently low to be innocuous for the patient but that locally are high enough to be lethal for the infectious agent. One of the major advances in recent years has been the size reduction of drug carriers that have dimensions in the nanometer scale and thus are much smaller than -and capable of being internalized by- many types of cells. Among the different types of potential antimicrobial peptide-encapsulating structures reviewed here are liposomes, dendritic polymers, solid core nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and DNA cages. These nanoparticulate systems can be functionalized with a plethora of biomolecules providing specificity of binding to particular cell types or locations; as examples of these targeting elements we will present antibodies, DNA aptamers, cell-penetrating peptides, and carbohydrates. Multifunctional Trojan horse-like nanovessels can be engineered by choosing the adequate peptide content, encapsulating structure, and targeting moiety for each particular application.     

Two antimicrobial peptides from skin secretions of Rana grahami.

Two antimicrobial peptides manifested a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms have been isolated from skin secretions of Rana grahami. These antimicrobial peptides were named grahamin 1 and grahamin 2. Their primary structures are GLLSGILGAGKNIVCGLSGLC and GLLSGILGAGKHIVCGLSGLC, respectively, determined by Edman degradation and mass spectrometry. They are structurally related to nigrocins identified from skin secretions of the dark-spotted frog, Rana nigromaculata. The cDNA clones encoding the precursor of grahamins were screened and sequenced from the skin cDNA library of R. grahami. The amino sequences deduced from the cDNA sequences match well with the results from Edman degradation. As other antimicrobial peptides from Rana species, grahamins contain a C-terminal loop region delineated by an intra-disulfide bridge named Rana box. Based on structural comparison of grahamin with other known antimicrobial peptides, grahamins could be classified into the family of antimicrobial peptides containing a single intra-disulfide bridge.     

Cytotoxicity and QSAR study of (thio)ureas derived from phenylalkylamines and pyridylalkylamines

Simplified 1,3-disubstituted urea derivatives (11–24) of phenylethylamines, homoveratylamines, 2-pyridylethylamines, 2-picolylamines as well as xylylenediamines were synthesized and investigated for their cytotoxic activities. The results revealed that most analogs displayed cytotoxicity against HepG2 and MOLT-3 cell lines. The bis-thiourea derivatives 23 and 24 exhibited higher inhibitory potency against HepG2 cell than the reference drug, etoposide. 1,1′-(1,3-phenylenebis(methylene))bis(3-(4-chlorophenyl)thiourea) 24 was shown to be the most potent cytotoxic compound against MOLT-3 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 1.62 μM. QSAR studies suggested that compounds with high ionization potential displayed high cytotoxicity against HuCCA-1 cell line. Furthermore, derivatives with dimethoxyphenyl group had high radial distribution function with a correspondingly high cytotoxicity against A549 cell line. Moreover, analogs 23 and 24 had low values of E _HOMO (energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital energy) as well as high cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell line. This study affords an easily accessible approach for the synthesis of promising anticancer agents. The developed QSAR models provided pertinent information into the physicochemical properties governing the investigated biologic properties.     

Cytotoxicity and radiosensitising activity of synthesized dinitrophenyl derivatives of 5-fluorouracil

Background and the purpose of the study

Dual functional agents in which nitroaromatic or nitroheterocyclic compounds are attached through a linker unit to mustards and aziridines have shown higher cytotoxicities than the corresponding counterparts to both aerobic and hypoxic cells and enhanced radiosensitizing activity. In the present investigation cytotoxicity and radiosensitizing activity of 2,4-dinitrobenzyl, 2,4-dinitrobenzoyl, and 2,4-dinitrophenacetyl derivatives of 5-fluorouracil which was assumed to release cytotoxic active quinone methidide and 5-fluorouracil under hypoxic conditions on HT-29 cell line under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions was investigated.

Methods

5-fluorouracil derivative X-XIII were prepared by the reaction of the corresponding di-nitro substituted benzyl, benzoyl and phenacetyl halides with 5-fluorouracil protected at N-1 with di-t-butoxydicarbonate (BOC) in dimethyl formamide (DMF) in the presence of the potassium carbonate followed by hydrolysis of the blocking group by potassium carbonate in methanol. Cytotoxicity of fluorouracil VIII and tested compounds X-XIII against HT-29 cell line under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions after 48 hrs incubation were measured by determination of the percent of the survival cells using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and percent of the dead cells using propidium iodide(PI)-digitonine assay and results were used to calculate the corresponding IC₅₀ values. Radiosensitization experiments were carried out by irradiation of the incubations with a ⁶⁰Co source and clonogenic assay was performed to determine the cell viabilities following treatment with the tested compounds and/or radiation. Sensitization Enhancement Ratio (SER) of each tested compound was obtained from the radiation survival curves in the absence and presence of each sensitizer for 37% survival respectively.

Results and major conclusion

Findings of the present study showed that alkylation or acylation of 5-fluorouracil result in compounds which have little or no cytotoxicity and radiosensitizing activity under aerobic conditions, but have high cytotoxicity and radiosensitizing effects under hypoxic conditions. Furthermore radiosensitizing activities of compounds under hypoxic conditions increased by increase in their concentrations and SER of the tested 5-FU derivatives at concentrations higher than 50 μmol were equal or higher than 1.6 which is the minimum effective SER of a radiosensitizer in an in vitro assay.     

Design and synthesis of amphipathic antimicrobial peptides

A large proportion of antimicrobial peptides share a common structural feature that is critical to their antimicrobial activity, i.e. amphipathic α-helices. The amphipathy of a polypeptide chain can be quantitated through the value of the hydrophobic moment. Generally, antimicrobial peptides are characterized by high hydrophobic moment and low hydrophobicity values. Using these criteria we have identified two short segments that possess hydrophobic moment properties associated with known antimicrobial peptides. Using in vitro assays the segment derived from the protein perforin displays no antifungal or antibacterial activity and, while showing no α-helicity in buffer or liposomes, exhibits a modest degree of α-helical structure in the presence of the a-helical inducer, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. However, rational modifications result in a derivative which assumes an α-helical conformation in the presence of liposomes, exhibits potent antifungal activity against plant fungal pathogens, has significant antibacterial activity, effects leakage of a fluorescent dye from acidic liposomes and is devoid of hemolytic activity. Results are also presented for a segment derived from the human immunodeficiency virus envelope protein. We suggest that the identification of putative amphipathic structures in proteins may provide a useful starting strategy in the design and synthesis of antimicrobial peptides.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of hydrazones derived from 4-methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide in aqueous medium

A series of biologically active N′-substituted-4-methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide derivatives were synthesized by condensation of 4-methylbenzenesulfonohydrazide and aromatic carbonyl compounds in the presence of polystyrene sulfonic acid in aqueous medium. The synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and mass spectra. The compounds have been evaluated for antimycobacterial, antibacterial and antifungal activities.