Chapter 17. Progress in Antimicrobial Peptides Book Chapter

Blondelle, SE, Houghten, RA. (1992). Chapter 17. Progress in Antimicrobial Peptides . 27 159-168. 10.1016/S0065-7743(08)60415-7

cited authors

  • Blondelle, SE; Houghten, RA

authors

abstract

  • This chapter discusses the antimicrobial peptides derived from natural sources and summarizes the recent approach consisting of the systematic screening of peptide libraries that represents a new source of antimicrobial peptides. Cecropins represent a class of antimicrobial peptides originally found in the humoral immune response of the North American silk moth Hyalophora cecropia. In a search to improve the biological activity of the natural cecropins, hybrids of cecropin and melittin have been synthesized. The mechanism of action of cecropins has been studied through the use of L- or D-amino acid-containing model peptides. Magainins consist of a family of basic antimicrobial peptides produced in the granular glands present in amphibian skin. They exhibit a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. As determined by Raman spectroscopy and NMR, the secondary structure of magainin 2 changes from unfolded in aqueous solution to helical when bound to lipid vesicles. An endopeptidase that cleaves the magainins into half-peptides in vivo has been isolated and characterized. Defensins, a family of cationic peptides, were first identified in mammalian phagocytic cells. To understand the mechanism of defense in action, the crystal structure of HNP-3 has been determined. Gramicidins are hydrophobic peptides produced by Bacillus brevis, which exhibits antimicrobial activity primarily against gram-positive bacteria but are known to be toxic to humans. The development of new antimicrobial peptides through the isolation and characterization of active substances in insect, mammalian, human tissues, or through the design of well defined structures remains difficult and limited by the need to screen and synthesize large numbers of peptides. Natural or synthetic model peptides represent a fertile source of novel chemotherapeutic agents. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc.

publication date

  • January 1, 1992

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 159

end page

  • 168

volume

  • 27