Helical 1:1 α/Sulfono-γ-AA Heterogeneous Peptides with Antibacterial Activity
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00286
Abstract
As one of the greatest threats facing the 21st century, antibiotic resistance is now a major public health concern. Host-defense peptides (HDPs) offer an alternative approach to combat emerging multi-drug-resistant bacteria. It is known that helical HDPs such as magainin 2 and its analogs adopt cationic amphipathic conformations upon interaction with bacterial membranes, leading to membrane disruption and subsequent bacterial cell death. We have previously shown that amphipathic sulfono-γ-AApeptides could mimic magainin 2 and exhibit bactericidal activity. In this article, we demonstrate for the first time that amphipathic helical 1:1 α/sulfono-γ-AA heterogeneous peptides, in which regular amino acids and sulfono-γ-AApeptide building blocks are alternatively present in a 1:1 pattern, display potent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) suggests that the lead sequences adopt defined helical structures. The subsequent studies including fluorescence microscopy and time-kill experiments indicate that these hybrid peptides exert antimicrobial activity by mimicking the mechanism of HDPs. Our findings may lead to the development of HDP-mimicking antimicrobial peptidomimetics that combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. In addition, our results also demonstrate the effective design of a new class of helical foldamer, which could be employed to interrogate other important biological targets such as protein–protein interactions in the future.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Biomacromolecules, v. 17, issue 5, p. 1854-1859
Scholar Commons Citation
She, Fengyu; Nimmagadda, Alekhya; Teng, Peng; Su, Ma; Zuo, Xiaobing; and Cai, Jianfeng, "Helical 1:1 α/Sulfono-γ-AA Heterogeneous Peptides with Antibacterial Activity" (2016). Chemistry Faculty Publications. 197.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/chm_facpub/197
