Author: Sin-Yeang Teow and Syed Atif AliD
Publishing Date: 2016
E-ISSN: 1011-601X
Volume 29 Issue 6
ABSTRACT:
Peptides derived from HIV-1 transmembrane proteins have been extensively studied for antimicrobial activities, and they are known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These AMPs have also been reported to potently combat the drug-resistant microbes. In this study, we demonstrated that peptide #6383 originated from HIV-1 MN strain membrane-spanning domain of gp41 was active (2-log reductions) at 100μg/mL (56.5μM) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in 10% and 50% human plasma-supplemented phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The activity was further enhanced (3-log reductions) in the presence of 5% human serum albumin (HSA) alone. All bactericidal activities were achieved within 6 hours. At 100μg/mL, the peptide showed only 13% toxicity against human erythrocytes. This peptide can serve as an attractive template for a design of a novel peptide antibiotic against drugresistant bacteria. By sequence-specific engineering or modifications, we anticipated that the bactericidal activity and the reduced toxicity against human erythrocytes will be improved.
KEYWORDS: HIV-1 glycoprotein; antimicrobial peptide; MRSA; hemolysis; plasma; serum albumin.