Anti-endotoxin 9-meric peptide with therapeutic potential for the treatment of endotoxemia.

Anti-endotoxin 9-meric peptide with therapeutic potential for the treatment of endotoxemia. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2020 Nov 20;: Authors: Krishnan M, Choi J, Choi S, Kim Y Abstract Inflammatory reactions activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacterium can lead to severe septic shocks. With recent emergence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria as well as lack of efficient ways to treat resulting infections, there is a need to develop novel anti-endotoxin agents. Antimicrobial peptides have been noticed as potential therapeutic molecules for bacterial infection and as candidates for new antibiotic drugs. We had previously designed the 9-meric antimicrobial peptide Pro9-3 and it showed high antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria. To further examine its potency as an anti-endotoxin agent, in this study, we examined its anti-endotoxin activities and elucidated its mechanism of action. We performed a dye-leakage experiment, BODIPY-TR cadaverine assay, and limulus amebocyte lysate assay for Pro9-3, and its lysine-substituted analogue and their enantiomers. The results confirmed that Pro9-3 targets the bacterial membrane and the arginine residues play key roles in its antimicrobial activity. Pro9-3 showed excellent LPS-neutralizing activity and LPS-binding properties, which were superior to those of other peptides. Saturation transfer difference-nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to explore the i...
Source: Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: J Microbiol Biotechnol Source Type: research