Easy strategy to increase salt resistance of antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2011 Oct;55(10):4918-21. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00202-11. Epub 2011 Jul 18.

Abstract

The efficacies of many antimicrobial peptides are greatly reduced under high salt concentrations, limiting their development as pharmaceutical compounds. Here, we describe an easy strategy to increase salt resistance of antimicrobial peptides by replacing tryptophan or histidine residues with the bulky amino acids β-naphthylalanine and β-(4,4'-biphenyl)alanine. The activities of the salt-sensitive peptide P-113 were diminished at high salt concentrations, whereas the activities of its β-naphthylalanine and β-(4,4'-biphenyl)alanine-substituted variant were less affected.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alanine / analogs & derivatives
  • Alanine / chemistry
  • Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Biphenyl Compounds / chemistry
  • Candida / drug effects*
  • Histatins / chemistry*
  • Histatins / pharmacology
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Salinity
  • Salt Tolerance*
  • Sodium Chloride
  • beta-Alanine / analogs & derivatives
  • beta-Alanine / chemistry

Substances

  • Biphenyl Compounds
  • Histatins
  • beta-(4,4'-biphenyl)alanine
  • beta-Alanine
  • Sodium Chloride
  • beta-naphthylalanine
  • Alanine