蜂毒肽C末端片段的反序肽的抗菌活性和溶血活性

设计并合成了具有不同碱性氨基酸残基数和不同疏水性片段链长的基于Mel(12~26)的系列反序肽类似物.结果表明,反序肽的正电荷和疏水性对于抑菌活性都很重要,N端至少保留3个碱性氨基酸(正电荷>4)和C端的疏水性片段的链长至少为8个氨基酸残基的类似物具有较高的抑菌活性,具有较大的抑菌活性的最小反序肽类似物为具有11个氨基酸残基的RetroMel(13~23).这些反序肽的溶血活性都很小.     

蜂毒肽类似物的合成和生物活性研究

Melittin(GIGAVLKVLTTGLPALISWIKRKRQQ-NH₂)是蜂毒中含26个氨基酸残基的多肽,具有抗菌和溶血等生物活性,是典型的阳离子抗菌肽.本文设计合成了蜂毒肽C端15残基肽片段(GLPALISWIKRKRQQ-NH₂)及其类似物(15残基).研究了Melittin及这些合成肽的抗菌活性、溶血活性、疏水性及二级结构.结果表明,合成的类似物的溶血活性明显降低,抗菌活性基本保留,且与其疏水性相关.类似物中与碱性氨基酸簇(KRKR)距离较远的残基的疏水性对其抗菌活性有较大的贡献.多肽溶血与抗菌机理不同.类似物的抗菌活性和溶血活性与其二级结构(α-螺旋结构)没有明显的相关性.     

α-氨基酸各官能团对其Co(Ⅱ)配合物可逆氧合性能的影响

选择氧合性能良好的组氨酸(His)-Co(Ⅱ)作为研究对象, 分别掩蔽—NH₂、 取代—O^-和去除—COO^-, 得到短肽、 伪肽和多胺等类组氨酸结构. 采用UV-Vis光谱法研究了α-氨基酸中的3个官能团对其Co(Ⅱ)配合物氧合性能的影响. 对比研究表明: α-氨基酸中—NH₂对其Co(Ⅱ)配合物的吸氧性具有决定作用; —COO^-对其Co(Ⅱ)配合物氧合作用的可逆性起关键作用; 而—O^-对其Co(Ⅱ)配合物的吸氧性影响不大. 在前期研究结果的基础上, 对α-氨基酸-Co(Ⅱ)配合物可逆吸收和释放O₂的机理进行了探讨.     

螺旋型抗菌肽的疏水性对抗细菌与抗真菌活性的影响比较

α-螺旋型多肽HPRP-A1由15个氨基酸残基组成,来源于幽门螺杆菌核糖体蛋白L1的N端.本研究以HPRP-A1为模板,在其非极性面中心通过单个氨基酸定点取代的方法,形成一系列疏水性不同的多肽类似物,系统地研究疏水性对α-螺旋型多肽生物活性的影响.结果显示,多肽疏水性及所带净电荷对多肽生物活性起着重要的作用;HPRP-A1及疏水性相对较高的多肽类似物具有较好的广谱抗菌活性（包括革兰氏阳性菌、革兰氏阴性菌及真菌）,但也有相对较高的溶血活性;多肽的疏水性与所带净电荷的变化对多肽抗细菌活性与抗真菌活性所产生的影响有着相似的变化趋势和程度.这意味着多肽与细菌的作用机制和多肽与真菌的作用机制存在一定的相关性.多肽对细菌和真菌的抗菌活性存在特异性,为设计出具有临床应用前景的抗菌肽药物奠定了基础.     

基于高维特征非线性筛选的HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位预测

高活性细胞毒T细胞(CTL)表位鉴定是设计肿瘤疫苗的关键内容.采用天然氨基酸的531个物理化学性质参数表征HLA-A^*0201限制性表位9肽, 从531×9个初始描述子出发, 经二元矩阵重排过滤器粗筛和多轮末尾淘汰精细筛选, 获得18个物理化学意义明确的保留描述子. 18个保留描述子主要涉及除1位、5位外各位置残基的疏水性和空间结构特征, 3位残基疏水性对活性影响最大, 且2位、4位、9位残基共占10个保留描述子,支持2位和9位残基为锚点、3位为关键位点以及4位残基为标志链的现有认知. 对18个保留描述子以支持向量回归构建定量序效模型,其拟合、留一法交叉验证决定系数R²、Q_cv²分别为0.957、0.708; 独立预测决定系数及均方根误差Q_ext² 、RMSE_ext分别为0.818、0.366, 明显优于文献报道. 通过对全组合虚拟9肽的预测, 得到了多条预测活性高于已知表位肽的9肽, 可供实验验证. 较全面阐明了特定位置残基对多肽亲和性的影响规律, 为高活性多肽疫苗分子设计提供了切实指导.     

具有高效抗真菌活性的β-氨基酸聚合物

通过模拟带有正电荷和两亲性结构的天然宿主防御肽(HDPs)，采用β-氨基酸N-硫代羧基酸酐(β-NTA)开环聚合方法，将不同比例正电荷单体N(α)-Z-DL-2,3-二氨基丙酸N-硫代羧基酸酐(DAP)和疏水性单体3-氨基-2-(苯基)丙酸N-硫代羧基酸酐(Ph)进行共聚，得到了系列两亲性β-氨基酸聚合物(DAP_xPh_y)₂₀。通过核磁共振氢谱仪(¹H-NMR)和凝胶渗透色谱仪(GPC)对其链长和结构进行表征。结果表明：(DAPx Phy)20聚合物具有高抗白色念珠菌活性，最低抑菌浓度(MIC)为1.56～12.5μg/mL，且该聚合物在200μg/mL质量浓度下未对人血红细胞和成纤维细胞造成明显毒性。     

碱性氨基酸对螺旋型抗菌肽生物活性的影响

以螺旋型抗菌肽HPRP-A1为模板,利用精氨酸(R)对HPRP-A1序列中的赖氨酸(K)进行不同位点、不同数量的取代,结合改造前后抗菌肽的螺旋度、疏水性及自聚集常数等理化性质,研究了螺旋型抗菌肽结构与活性的相关性.进一步结合脂质体模拟和细胞膜穿透实验,对螺旋型抗菌肽与不同类型细胞膜的相互作用过程进行了研究.结果表明,增加精氨酸的取代数量,会增强抗菌肽的疏水性和螺旋度,导致螺旋型抗菌肽对真核细胞的毒性增强;但精氨酸的增加会伴随着抗菌肽自聚集能力的降低以及抗菌肽对细菌细胞膜的渗透性降低,导致抗菌肽的抗菌活性降低.本研究对于设计和改造具有应用前景的螺旋型抗菌肽具有重要指导意义.     

甘露聚糖肽的结构鉴定

采用离子交换柱层析和凝胶柱层析从甘露聚糖肽原料中分离纯化得到4种均一糖肽MT1-A,MT1-B,MT2-A和MT2-B;通过单糖组成分析、甲基化分析、氢核磁共振谱(~1H NMR)、红外光谱(IR)和氨基酸组成分析等手段对均一糖肽MT1-A,MT1-B和MT2-B的结构进行了鉴定.结果表明,3种均一糖肽的单糖组成、糖残基的连接方式与MT2-A相同,但是分子量以及氨基酸总量有所不同.测定了不同批次甘露聚糖肽原料的~1H NMR谱,以MT2-A的~1H NMR谱图为标准谱,以异头氢区域为鉴定区域,通过计算不同批次甘露聚糖肽原料以及其它3种均一糖肽与MT2-A的~1H NMR谱的相关系数,定量评价了不同批次甘露聚糖肽原料与4种均一糖肽的相似程度.结果表明,甘露聚糖肽是由糖链结构一致、分子量和氨基酸含量不同的几种均一糖肽构成的混合物.     

5-甲基-1,2,4-三唑-3-硫酮类糖苷化合物的合成及抗菌活性

在KOH/丙酮体系中, 以5-甲基-4-N-取代苯基亚胺/胺基-1,2,4-三唑-3-硫酮为原料, 与溴-α-D-四乙酰葡萄糖进行Kenigs-Knorr反应合成了10个新颖的化合物—5-甲基-4-N-取代苯基亚胺基/胺基-3-S-(2',3',4',6'-四-O-乙酰基-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基)-1,2,4-三唑(2a~2e, 5a~5e); 并在二氯甲烷/甲醇/甲醇钠混合体系中水解脱除乙酰基, 得到10个新颖的化合物—5-甲基-4-N-取代苯基亚胺基-3-S-(β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基)-1,2,4-三唑(3a~3e)及5-甲基-4-N-取代苯基胺基-3-S-(β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基)-1,2,4-三唑(6a~6e). 化合物的结构均经核磁共振波谱(NMR)、 红外光谱(IR)和高分辨质谱(HRMS)分析确证. 生物活性测试结果表明, 目标化合物对大肠杆菌、 金黄色葡萄球菌、 枯草芽孢杆菌和白色念珠球菌普遍具有较好的抗菌活性. 化合物3d和3e对4种菌株的最小抑菌浓度相对较低, 表现出较强的广谱抗菌活性.     

鸟嘌呤与氨基酸残基体系的极化力场

发展了应用于鸟嘌呤G和氨基酸残基体系的浮动电荷力场, 该力场明确定义了孤对电子和键的电荷和位置, 通过电荷随着环境的浮动来体现极化效应; 通过氢键拟合函数k_HB描绘了氢键键能. 应用量子化学方法, 对G与氨基酸残基体系从氢键、 几何结构及电荷分布3个方面展开计算及分析, 并以其为基准, 确定参数发展了适用于G与氨基酸残基氢键体系的ABEEMσπ PFF. 采用3种不同力场模拟目标分子的结构和性质. 模拟结果表明, 发展的ABEEMσπ PFF与量子化学方法具有最好的一致性, 可用于模拟生物大分子体系.     

具有双活性序列的新型抗菌肽的设计及性质

设计合成了具有2个活性序列的线性和环状多肽及具有单个活性序列的短链多肽, 研究了它们的杀菌活性、 细胞毒性及溶血性. 结果表明, 线性肽和环状肽的杀菌活性高于短链肽. 利用计算模拟的方法计算了多肽与细菌细胞膜中一种重要的成分磷脂酰甘油(DMPG)的结合能. 结果表明, 多肽-DMPG的结合能与多肽的杀菌活性具有较高的相关性, 线性和环状多肽与DMPG的结合能大于短链肽. 线性和环状多肽均含有2个活性序列, 可提供多个荷正电氨基酸与荷负电的磷脂结合, 结合能较大, 杀菌活性较强. 采用模拟生物膜对其中几条多肽的作用机理进行了初步研究. 结果表明, 该类多肽有可能使正常哺乳动物细胞的细胞膜产生孔洞; 而对于细菌细胞膜, 多肽并未在膜上产生明显孔洞, 而是引起了细菌细胞膜的聚集.     

Novel Antimicrobial Peptides from a Cecropin-Like Region of Heteroscorpine-1 from Heterometrus laoticus Venom with Membrane Disruption Activity

The increasing antimicrobial-resistant prevalence has become a severe health problem. It has led to the invention of a new antimicrobial agent such as antimicrobial peptides. Heteroscorpine-1 is an antimicrobial peptide that has the ability to kill many bacterial strains. It consists of 76 amino acid residues with a cecropin-like region in N-terminal and a defensin-like region in the C-terminal. The cecropin-like region from heteroscorpine-1 (CeHS-1) is similar to cecropin B, but it lost its glycine-proline hinge region. The bioinformatics prediction was used to help the designing of mutant peptides. The addition of glycine-proline hinge and positively charged amino acids, the deletion of negatively charged amino acids, and the optimization of the hydrophobicity of the peptide resulted in two mutant peptides, namely, CeHS-1 GP and CeHS-1 GPK. The new mutant peptide showed higher antimicrobial activity than the native peptide without increasing toxicity. The interaction of the peptides with the membrane showed that the peptides were capable of disrupting both the inner and outer bacterial cell membrane. Furthermore, the SEM analysis showed that the peptides created the pore in the bacterial cell membrane resulted in cell membrane disruption. In conclusion, the mutants of CeHS-1 had the potential to develop as novel antimicrobial peptides.     

Dendropsophin 1, a novel antimicrobial peptide from the skin secretion of the endemic Colombian frog Dendropsophus columbianus

In efforts to find new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), we studied the skin secretion of the endemic Colombian frog Dendropsophus columbianus belonging to a genus that has not been investigated previously. From HPLC-fractionated secretion, we identified one peptide with slightly antibacterial activity. Its peptide sequence showed no sequence similarity to current annotated peptides. We named this novel peptide dendropsophin 1 (Dc1). Afterward, two analogues were designed (Dc1.1 and Dc1.2) to improve the cationic and amphipathic features. Then, their antiproliferative and cytotoxic properties were evaluated against several pathogens including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and also mammalian cells. Dc1 and its two analogues exhibited moderate antibacterial activities and no hemolytic and cytotoxic effects on mammalian cells. Analogue Dc1.2 showed slightly improved antibacterial properties. Their secondary structures were characterised using CD spectroscopy and Dc1.2 displayed a higher α-helix content and thermal stability compared to Dc1 and Dc1.1 in hydrophobic experimental conditions.     

新型抗菌肽的设计、活性研究及与磷脂相互作用的计算模拟

设计合成了多个具有2个活性序列的线性和环状多肽及具有单个活性序列的短链多肽, 研究了它们的杀菌活性, 发现其杀菌活性顺序为长链肽>环状肽>短链肽, 特别是线性的Linear-KT和Linear-KS对多种革兰氏阴性菌和阳性菌均具有较高的杀菌活性. 采用MTT法考察了Linear-KT和Linear-KS对正常细胞的毒性, 其中Linear-KS表现出较低的细胞毒性, 优于阳性对照多粘菌素B. 利用计算模拟的方法计算了多肽与细菌细胞膜中磷脂酰甘油(DMPG)的相互作用. 结果表明, 多肽和DMPG的结合能也表现出长链肽>环状肽>短链肽的规律, 特别是Linear-KT和Linear-KS具有较高的结合能. 长链肽含有2个活性序列, 可提供多个荷正电的氨基酸与荷负电的磷脂结合, 结合能较大, 杀菌活性较强. 同时, 柔性的结构及Linear-KT和Linear-KS中丝氨酸和苏氨酸的β碳上的羟基可与磷脂上的羰基形成多个氢键, 进一步增大了结合能. 计算模拟的方法为抗菌肽的杀菌活性从理论上提供了一定的依据.     

Skin and wound delivery systems for antimicrobial peptides

Non-healing wounds cause hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, and result in large costs for society. A key reason for this is the prevalence of challenging bacterial infections, which may dramatically hinder wound healing. With resistance development among bacteria against antibiotics, this situation has deteriorated during the last couple of decades, pointing to an urgent need for new wound treatments. In particular, this applies to wound dressings able to combat bacterial infection locally in wounds and impaired skin, including those formed by bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics. Within this context, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are currently receiving intense interest. AMPs are amphiphilic peptides, frequently net positively charged, and with a sizable fraction of hydrophobic amino acids. Through destabilization of bacterial membranes, neutralization of inflammatory lipopolysaccharides, and other mechanisms, AMPs can be designed for potent antimicrobial effects, also against antibiotics-resistant strains, and to provide immunomodulatory effects while simultaneously displaying low toxicity. While considerable attention has been placed on AMP optimization and clarification of their mode(s)-of-action, much less attention has been paid on efficient AMP delivery. Considering that AMPs are large molecules, net positively charged, amphiphilic, and susceptible to infection-mediated proteolytic degradation, efficient in vivo delivery of such peptides is, however, challenging and delivery systems needed for the realization of AMP-based therapeutics. In the present work, recent developments regarding AMP delivery systems for treatment of wounds and skin infections are discussed, with the aim to link results from physicochemical studies on, e.g., peptide loading/release, membrane interactions, and self-assembly, with those on the biological functional performance of AMP delivery systems in terms of antimicrobial effects, cell toxicity, inflammation, and wound healing.     

Deformylated Gramicidin A and Its Derivatives Showing High Antimicrobial Activity and Low Hemolytic Toxicity

Gramicidin A is a natural peptide, which shows high antimicrobial activity to Gram‐positive bacteria. However, the hemolytic toxicity prevents its therapeutic usage. We demonstrated that by simply removing the formyl group at the N terminus, the hemolytic toxicity of the peptide could be obviously decreased. The deformylated gramicidin A ( 1 ) could efficiently insert into the lipid bilayer to form transmembrane channels. The peptide can also selectively insert into the membrane of Gram‐positive bacteria but not that of erythrocytes, leading to its high antimicrobial activity and very low hemolytic toxicity. The derivation of 1 could be achieved by decoration at the terminal NH₂ group, which also produced peptides showing high activity and low hemolytic toxicity. This derivation method provided us with an efficient strategy to build a library for future activity and cytotoxicity screening in vitro and in vivo.     

Rationally Designed α‐Helical Broad‐Spectrum Antimicrobial Peptides with Idealized Facial Amphiphilicity

A series of 12‐amino acid peptide analogs is designed using point mutation strategy based on an α‐helical peptide template. The first mutation in the series, KL12, has an idealized facial amphiphilicity. Subsequent mutations are performed to increase hydrophobic or cationic contents. Idealized facial amphiphilicity show enhanced antimicrobial activity and selectivity against most of the tested microbes. Increasing hydrophobic contents further enhance antimicrobial potency; however, selectivity of the most hydrophobic analog is impaired due to non‐specific interactions with mammalian cell membrane. This study demonstrates that facial amphiphilicity and hydrophobic content are strongly correlated with antimicrobial activity and selectivity of antimicrobial peptides.     

Peptide and glycopeptide dendrimer apple trees as enzyme models and for biomedical applications

Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) provides peptides with a dendritic topology when diamino acids are introduced in the sequences. Peptide dendrimers with one to three amino acids between branches can be prepared with up to 38 amino acids (MW ~ 5,000 Da). Larger peptide dendrimers (MW ~ 30,000) were obtained by a multivalent chloroacetyl cysteine (ClAc) ligation. Structural studies of peptide dendrimers by CD, FT-IR, NMR and molecular dynamics reveal molten globule states containing up to 50% of α-helix. Esterase and aldolase peptide dendrimers displaying dendritic effects and enzyme kinetics (k(cat)/k(uncat) ~ 10(5)) were designed or discovered by screening large combinatorial libraries. Strong ligands for Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectins LecA and LecB able to inhibit biofilm formation were obtained with glycopeptide dendrimers. Efficient ligands for cobalamin, cytotoxic colchicine conjugates and antimicrobial peptide dendrimers were also developed showing the versatility of dendritic peptides. Complementing the multivalency, the amino acid composition of the dendrimers strongly influenced the catalytic or biological activity obtained demonstrating the importance of the "apple tree" configuration for protein-like function in peptide dendrimers.     

Tunable self-assembled peptide amphiphile nanostructures

Peptide amphiphiles are capable of self-assembly into a diverse array of nanostructures including ribbons, tubes, and vesicles. However, the ability to select the morphology of the resulting structure is not well developed. We examined the influence of systematic changes in the number and type of hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids on the self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides. Variations in the morphology of self-assembled peptides of the form X(6)K(n) (X = alanine, valine, or leucine; K = lysine; n = 1-5) are investigated using a combination of transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering measurements. The secondary structures of the peptides are determined using circular dichroism. Self-assembly is controlled through a combination of interactions between the hydrophobic segments of the peptide molecules and repulsive forces between the charged segments. Increasing the hydrophobicity of the peptide by changing X to a more lipophilic amino acid or decreasing the number of hydrophilic amino acids transforms the self-assembled nanostructures from vesicles to tubes and ribbons. Changes in the hydrophobicity of the peptides are reflected in changes in the critical micelle concentration observed using pyrene probe fluorescence analysis. Self-assembled materials formed from cationic peptide amphiphiles of this type display promise as carriers for insoluble molecules or negatively charged nucleic acids in drug or gene delivery applications.