PGLa-H tandem-repeat peptides active against multidrug resistant clinical bacterial isolates.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates for new antibiotic classes but often display an unacceptably high toxicity towards human cells. A naturally produced C-terminal fragment of PGLa, named PGLa-H, has been reported to have a very low haemolytic activity while maintaining a moderate antibacterial activity. A sequential tandem repeat of this fragment, diPGLa-H, was designed, as well as an analogue with a Val to Gly substitution at a key position. These peptides showed markedly improved in vitro bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity against both reference strains and multidrug resistant clinical isolates of Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, with generally low toxicity for human cells as assessed by haemolysis, cell viability, and DNA damage assays. The glycine substitution analogue, kiadin, had a slightly better antibacterial activity and reduced haemolytic activity, which may correlate with an increased flexibility of its helical structure, as deduced using molecular dynamics simulations. These peptides may serve as useful lead compounds for developing anti-infective agents against resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive species.
['Rončević|Tomislav|T|', 'Gajski|Goran|G|', 'Ilić|Nada|N|', 'Goić-Barišić|Ivana|I|', 'Tonkić|Marija|M|', 'Zoranić|Larisa|L|', 'Simunić|Juraj|J|', 'Benincasa|Monica|M|', 'Mijaković|Marijana|M|', 'Tossi|Alessandro|A|', 'Juretić|Davor|D|']
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides D002470:Cell Survival D004249:DNA Damage D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria D006801:Humans D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation D010455:Peptides
PGLa-H Multidrug resistant Antimicrobial peptides Bactericidal activity Clinical isolates Cyto/genotoxicity