In Silico Design and Synthesis of Antifungal Peptides Guided by Quantitative Antifungal Activity

J Chem Inf Model. 2024 May 27;64(10):4277-4285. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00142. Epub 2024 May 14.

Abstract

Antifungal peptides (AFPs) are emerging as promising candidates for advanced antifungal therapies because of their broad-spectrum efficacy and reduced resistance development. In silico design of AFPs, however, remains challenging, due to the lack of an efficient and well-validated quantitative assessment of antifungal activity. This study introduced an AFP design approach that leverages an innovative quantitative metric, named the antifungal index (AFI), through a three-step process, i.e., segmentation, single-point mutation, and global multipoint optimization. An exhaustive search of 100 putative AFP sequences indicated that random modifications without guidance only have a 5.97-20.24% chance of enhancing antifungal activity. Analysis of the search results revealed that (1) N-terminus truncation is more effective in enhancing antifungal activity than the modifications at the C-terminus or both ends, (2) introducing the amino acids within the 10-60% sequence region that enhance aromaticity and hydrophobicity are more effective in increasing antifungal efficacy, and (3) incorporating alanine, cysteine, and phenylalanine during multiple point mutations has a synergistic effect on enhancing antifungal activity. Subsequently, 28 designed peptides were synthesized and tested against four typical fungal strains. The success rate for developing promising AFPs, with a minimal inhibitory concentration of ≤5.00 μM, was an impressive 82.14%. The predictive and design tool is accessible at https://antifungipept.chemoinfolab.com.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antifungal Agents* / chemical synthesis
  • Antifungal Agents* / chemistry
  • Antifungal Agents* / pharmacology
  • Computer Simulation*
  • Drug Design*
  • Fungi / drug effects
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests*
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / pharmacology

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Peptides