In recent years, antimicrobial peptides isolated from amphibian toxins have gained attention as new multifunctional drugs interacting with different molecular targets. We aimed to rationally design a new peptide from temporin-PTa. Hp-MAP3 (NH2-LLKKVLALLKKVL-COOH), net charge (+4), hydrophobicity (0.69), the content of hydrophobic residues (69%), and hydrophobic moment (0.73). For the construction of the analog peptide, the physicochemical characteristics were reorganized into hydrophilic and hydrophobic residues with the addition of lysines and leucines. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 2.7 to 43 μM against the growth of Gram-negative and positive bacteria, and the potential for biofilm eradication was 173.2 μM. Within 20 min, the peptide Hp-MAP3 (10.8 μM) prompted 100% of the damage to E. coli cells. At 43.3 μM, eliminated 100% of S. aureus within 5 min. The effects against yeast species of the Candida genus ranged from 5.4 to 86.6 μM. Hp-MAP3 presents cytotoxic activity against tumor HeLa at a concentration of 21.6 μM with an IC50 of 10.4 µM. Furthermore, the peptide showed hemolytic activity against murine erythrocytes. Structural studies carried out by circular dichroism showed that Hp-MAP3, while in the presence of 50% trifluoroethanol or SDS, an α-helix secondary structure. Finally, Amphipathic Hp-MAP3 building an important model for the design of new multifunctional molecules.
Keywords: antimicrobial peptides; bacterial resistance; fungal infections; rational design; temporins.