Applications and evolution of melittin, the quintessential membrane active peptide

Shantanu Guha; Ryan P Ferrie; Jenisha Ghimire; Cristina R Ventura; Eric Wu; Leisheng Sun; Sarah Y Kim; Gregory R Wiedman; Kalina Hristova; Wimley C Wimley

doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114769

Applications and evolution of melittin, the quintessential membrane active peptide

Biochem Pharmacol. 2021 Nov:193:114769. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114769. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Houston, TX, USA.
² Tulane University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New Orleans, LA, USA.
³ Seton Hall University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, South Orange, NJ, USA.
⁴ Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Durham, NC, USA.
⁵ Johns Hopkins University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: kalina.hristova@jhu.edu.
⁶ University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: wwimley@tulane.edu.

Abstract

Melittin, the main venom component of the European Honeybee, is a cationic linear peptide-amide of 26 amino acid residues with the sequence: GIGAVLKVLTTGLPALISWIKRKRQQ-NH₂. Melittin binds to lipid bilayer membranes, folds into amphipathic α-helical secondary structure and disrupts the permeability barrier. Since melittin was first described, a remarkable array of activities and potential applications in biology and medicine have been described. Melittin is also a favorite model system for biophysicists to study the structure, folding and function of peptides and proteins in membranes. Melittin has also been used as a template for the evolution of new activities in membranes. Here we overview the rich history of scientific research into the many activities of melittin and outline exciting future applications.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Bees / genetics*
Bees / physiology*
Gene Expression Regulation / physiology
Melitten / chemistry
Melitten / genetics*
Melitten / metabolism*
Phylogeny
Protein Conformation

Substances

Melitten

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding