IAI FigSearch
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Travis, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Tack, B. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Travis, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Tack, B. F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, May 2000, p. 2748-2755, Vol. 68, No. 5
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Bactericidal Activity of Mammalian Cathelicidin-Derived Peptides

Sue M. Travis,1 Norma N. Anderson,1 William R. Forsyth,2 Cesar Espiritu,3 Barbara D. Conway,4 E. P. Greenberg,4 Paul B. McCray Jr.,5 Robert I. Lehrer,3 Michael J. Welsh,6 and Brian F. Tack4,*

Departments of Microbiology,4 Internal Medicine,1 Biochemistry,2 Pediatrics,5 and Physiology and Biophysics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute,6 University of Iowa College of Medicine Iowa City, Iowa 52242, and UCLA Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 900953

Received 16 November 1999/Returned for modification 15 December 1999/Accepted 20 January 2000

Endogenous antimicrobial peptides of the cathelicidin family contribute to innate immunity. The emergence of widespread antibiotic resistance in many commonly encountered bacteria requires the search for new bactericidal agents with therapeutic potential. Solid-phase synthesis was employed to prepare linear antimicrobial peptides found in cathelicidins of five mammals: human (FALL39/LL37), rabbit (CAP18), mouse (mCRAMP), rat (rCRAMP), and sheep (SMAP29 and SMAP34). These peptides were tested at ionic strengths of 25 and 175 mM against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Each peptide manifested activity against P. aeruginosa irrespective of the NaCl concentration. CAP18 and SMAP29 were the most effective peptides of the group against all test organisms under both low- and high-salt conditions. Select peptides of 15 to 21 residues, modeled on CAP18 (37 residues), retained activity against the gram-negative bacteria and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, although the bactericidal activity was reduced compared to that of the parent peptide. In accordance with the behavior of the parent molecule, the truncated peptides adopted an alpha -helical structure in the presence of trifluoroethanol or lipopolysaccharide. The relationship between the bactericidal activity and several physiochemical properties of the cathelicidins was examined. The activities of the full-length peptides correlated positively with a predicted gradient of hydrophobicity along the peptide backbone and with net positive charge; they correlated inversely with relative abundance of anionic residues. The salt-resistant, antimicrobial properties of CAP18 and SMAP29 suggest that these peptides or congeneric structures have potential for the treatment of bacterial infections in normal and immunocompromised persons and individuals with cystic fibrosis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Bowen Science Building, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242. Phone: (319) 335-8891. Fax: (319) 353-3038. E-mail: brian-tack{at}uiowa.edu.

Infection and Immunity, May 2000, p. 2748-2755, Vol. 68, No. 5
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.