Longipin: An Amyloid Antimicrobial Peptide from the Harvestman Acutisoma longipes (Arachnida: Opiliones) with Preferential Affinity for Anionic Vesicles

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 20;11(12):e0167953. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167953. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

In contrast to vertebrate immune systems, invertebrates lack an adaptive response and rely solely on innate immunity in which antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play an essential role. Most of them are membrane active molecules that are typically unstructured in solution and adopt secondary/tertiary structures upon binding to phospholipid bilayers. This work presents the first characterization of a constitutive AMP from the hemolymph of an Opiliones order animal: the harvestman Acutisoma longipes. This peptide was named longipin. It presents 18 aminoacid residues (SGYLPGKEYVYKYKGKVF) and a positive net charge at neutral pH. No similarity with other AMPs was observed. However, high sequence similarity with heme-lipoproteins from ticks suggested that longipin might be a protein fragment. The synthetic peptide showed enhanced antifungal activity against Candida guilliermondii and C. tropicalis yeasts (MIC: 3.8-7.5 μM) and did not interfered with VERO cells line viability at all concentrations tested (200-0.1 μM). This selectivity against microbial cells is related to the highest affinity of longipin for anionic charged vesicles (POPG:POPC) compared to zwitterionic ones (POPC), once microbial plasma membrane are generally more negatively charged compared to mammalian cells membrane. Dye leakage from carboxyfluorescein-loaded POPG:POPC vesicles suggested that longipin is a membrane active antimicrobial peptide and FT-IR spectroscopy showed that the peptide chain is mainly unstructured in solution or in the presence of POPC vesicles. However, upon binding to POPG:POPC vesicles, the FT-IR spectrum showed bands related to β-sheet and amyloid-like fibril conformations in agreement with thioflavin-T binding assays, indicating that longipin is an amyloid antimicrobial peptide.

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid* / chemistry
  • Amyloid* / genetics
  • Amyloid* / pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / chemistry
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / genetics
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / pharmacology
  • Arachnida* / chemistry
  • Arachnida* / genetics
  • Arthropod Proteins* / chemistry
  • Arthropod Proteins* / genetics
  • Arthropod Proteins* / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / growth & development*
  • Candida / growth & development*
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Vero Cells

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Arthropod Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was support by grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, State of São Paulo Foundation, grant 2013/07467-1, CeTICS-CEPID) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, grant 472744/2012-7). RSRS acknowledges the scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and from Red de Universidades de América Latina y el Caribe. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.