• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.534-538
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• 1990

Glucagon was found to interact with DMPC vesicles electrostatically and hydrophobically. It appears that glucagon bound irreversibly to the vesicles through hydrophobic interaction was partially protected from the proteolysis by trypsin. Out of three possible sites, only the peptide bond preceded by Arg-18 was cleaved by a prolonged trypsin treatment. ${\alpha}$-chymotrysin did not affect the vesicle-bound glucagon. Based on these observations, possible structure of irreversibly bound glucagon on the vesicle surface is discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.595-600
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• 1998

In order to investigate a relationship of the structure-antifungal and hemolytic activities between cecropin A(1-8)-magainin 2(1-12) and cecropin A(1-8)-melittin(1-12) hybrid peptides, several analogues with amino acid substitution at positions 10 (Ile) and 16 (Ser) were designed and synthesized. The increase of the hydrophobicity by substituting with Leu, Phe, and Trp at position 16 in cecropin A(1-8)-magainin 2(1-12) did not have a significant effect on antifungal activity but caused a remarkable increase in hemolytic activity. These results indicate that the hydrophobic property at position 16 of cecropin A(1-8)-magainin 2(1-12) is more correlated to hemolytic activity than to antifungal activity. Replacement with Pro at position 10 of cecropin A(1-8)- magainin 2(1-12) and cecropin A(1-8)-melittin (1-12) caused a remarkable decrease in a-helical contents in the 50% TFE solution and induced a reduction in lytic activity against Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus fumigatus. These results demonstrate that flexibility at the central hinge region is essential for lytic activity against fungal cells and $\alpha$-helicity of the peptides.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1046-1056
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• 2016

RV-23 is a melittin-related antibacterial peptide (MRP) with lower cytotoxicity than either melittin or AR-23, another MRP. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism of RV-23's antibacterial selectivity and its hemocompatibility. The results showed that all the peptides exhibited lytic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with RV-23 showing the highest potency. Moreover, RV-23 had lower cytotoxicity than melittin or AR-23 at their minimal inhibitory concentration. In addition, CD experiments showed that melittin, RV-23, and AR-23 all had a typical α-helical structure, and RV-23 had the lowest α-helix content. The structural information showed that RV-23 has the lowest hydrophobicity and highest hydrophobic moment. Because hydrophobicity and α-helix content are believed to correlate with hemolysis, the results indicate that the selective lytic activity against bacteria of RV-23 may be due to its low hydrophobicity and α-helicity, which lead to low cytotoxicity without affecting antibacterial activity. Furthermore, RV-23 did not affect the structure and function of blood components such as red blood cells, platelets, albumin, and the blood coagulation system. In conclusion, RV-23 is a cell-selective antibacterial peptide with high hemocompatibility due to its unique structure.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.671-678
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• 2018

Papiliocin, isolated from the swallowtail butterfly (Papilio xuthus), is an antimicrobial peptide with high selectivity against gram-negative bacteria. We previously showed that the N-terminal helix of papiliocin (PapN) plays a key role in the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of papiliocin. In this study, we measured the selectivity of PapN against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, as well as its anti-inflammatory activity. Interactions between Trp2 of PapN and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a major component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, were studied using the Trp fluorescence blue shift and quenching in LPS micelles. Furthermore, using circular dichroism, we investigated the interactions between PapN and LPS, showing that LPS plays critical roles in peptide folding. Our results demonstrated that Trp2 in PapN was buried deep in the negatively charged LPS, and Trp2 induced the ${\alpha}$-helical structure of PapN. Importantly, docking studies determined that predominant electrostatic interactions of positively charged arginine residues in PapN with phosphate head groups of LPS were key factors for binding. Similarly, hydrophobic interactions by aromatic residues of PapN with fatty acid chains in LPS were also significant for binding. These results may facilitate the development of peptide antibiotics with anti-inflammatory activity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3665-3670
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• 2013

The R3V6 peptide includes a hydrophilic arginine stretch and a hydrophobic valine stretch. In previous studies, the R3V6 peptide was evaluated as a gene carrier and was found to have low cytotoxicity. However, the transfection efficiency of R3V6 was lower than that of poly-L-lysine (PLL) in N2A neuroblastoma cells. In this study, the transfection efficiency of R3V6 was improved in combination with high mobility group box 1A domain (HMGA). HMGA is originated from the nuclear protein and has many positively-charged amino acids. Therefore, HMGA binds to DNA via charge interaction. In addition, HMGA has a nuclear localization signal peptide and may increase the delivery efficiency of DNA into the nucleus. The ternary complex with HMGA, R3V6, and DNA was prepared and evaluated as a gene carrier. First, the HMGA/DNA complex was prepared with a negative surface charge. Then, R3V6 was added to the complex to coat the negative charges of the HMGA/DNA complex, forming the ternary complex of HMGA, R3V6, and DNA. A physical characterization study showed that the ternary complex was more stable than the PLL/DNA complex. The HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex had a higher transfection efficiency than the PLL/DNA, HMGA/DNA, or R3V6/DNA complexes in N2A cells. Furthermore, the HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex was not toxic to cells. Therefore, the HMGA/R3V6/DNA complex may be a useful gene delivery carrier.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1999-2009
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• 2017

The secretion efficiency of a protein in a Sec-type secretion system is mainly determined by an N-terminal signal peptide and its combination with its cognate protein. Five signal peptides, namely, two synthetic Sec-type and three Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase-derived signal peptides, were compared for periplasmic expression of the human growth hormone (hGH) in E. coli. Based on in silico predictions on the signal peptides' cleavage efficiencies and their corresponding mRNA secondary structures, a number of amino acid substitutions and silent mutations were considered in the modified signal sequences. The two synthetic signal peptides, specifically designed for hGH secretion in E. coli, differ in their N-terminal positively charged residues and hydrophobic region lengths. According to the mRNA secondary structure predictions, combinations of the protein and each of the five signal sequences could lead to different outcomes, especially when accessibility of the initiator ATG and ribosome binding sites were considered. In the experimental stage, the two synthetic signal peptides displayed complete processing and resulted in efficient secretion of the mature hGH in periplasmic regions, as was demonstrated by protein analysis. The three alpha-amylase-derived signal peptides, however, were processed partially from their precursors. Therefore, to achieve efficient secretion of a protein in a heterologous system, designing a specific signal peptide by using a combined approach of optimizations of the mRNA secondary structure and the signal peptide H-domain and cleavage site is recommended.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.382-390
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• 2020

Periplanetasin-4 is an antimicrobial peptide with 13 amino acids identified in cockroaches. It has been reported to induce fungal cell death by apoptosis and membrane-targeted action. Analogs were designed by substituting arginine residues to modify the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions accordingly and explore the effect of periplanetasin-4 through the increase of net charge and the decrease of hydrophobicity. The analogs showed lower activity than periplanetasin-4 against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Similar to periplanetasin-4, the analogs exhibited slight hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes. Membrane studies, including determination of changes in membrane potential and permeability, and fluidity assays, revealed that the analogs disrupt less membrane integrity compared to periplanetasin-4. Likewise, when the analogs were treated to the artificial membrane model, the passage of molecules bigger than FD4 was difficult. In conclusion, arginine substitution could not maintain the membrane disruption ability of periplanetasin-4. The results indicated that the attenuation of hydrophobic interactions with the plasma membrane caused a reduction in the accumulation of the analogs on the membrane before the formation of electrostatic interactions. Our findings will assist in the further development of antimicrobial peptides for clinical use.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.984-988
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• 2001

Since anti-angiogenesis could lead to the suppression of tumor growth, angiogenesis inhibitors have received particular attention for their therapeutic potential. In this study, two angiogenic inhibitors using the bioactive sequence from the kring le 5, AK1(KLYDY), AK2(KLWDF) were designed and synthesized. We have investigated their solution structures using NMR spectroscopy and their activities as angiogenesis inhibitors. AK2 has an intramolecular hydrogen bon d between the side chain amino proton of Lys1 and the carboxyl oxygen of Asp4 with a N ${\cdot}{\cdot}{\cdot}$O distance of $3.27\AA$, while AK1 shows more flexible structures than AK2. Indole ring in Trp is much bigger than the phenyl ring in Tyr and may have good face-to-edge interaction enforcing more rigid and constrained conformational features of AK2. Because of this relatively stable structure, Trp3 in AK2 may have better hydrophobic interaction with Phe5 than Tyr3 in AK1 if two adjacent aromatic groups are located in hydrophobic pocket of receptor. Since AK2 shows the similar anti-angiogenic activities to AK1, we are also able to confirm that the activity of AK1 is irrelevant to the Tyr phosphorylation. More rigid drug with higher activities can be provided by the mimetic approaches. For the further development of the angiogenesis inhibitors, these conformational studies on our lead peptides will be helpful in design of peptidomimetics.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.409-413
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• 2012

Indolicidin (ID) is a 13-residue Trp-rich antimicrobial peptide (AMP) isolated from bovine neutrophils. In addition to having a high antimicrobial potency, it is also toxic to mammalian cells. To develop novel ID-derived AMPs with shorter lengths and enhanced prokaryotic selectivities (meaning potent antimicrobial activity against bacterial cells without toxicity against mammalian cells) over the parental ID, several ID analogs were designed and synthesized. Finally, 10-residue ID analogs (SI, SI-PA, SI-WF and SI-WL) with much higher prokaryotic selectivity than the parental ID were developed. Our results suggest that the hydrophobic and aromatic amino acids at the central position of the analog SI with the highest prokaryotic selectivity are important for potent antimicrobial activity, but two Pro residues do not affect antimicrobial activity. The order of prokaryotic selectivity for ID and its designed analogs was SI > SI-PA > SI-WF > SI-WL > ID > SI-WA. Taken together, our designed short ID analogs could be developed as therapeutic agents for treating bacterial infections.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1478-1484
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• 2003

CRAMP was identified from a cDNA clone derived from a mouse femoral marrow cells as a member of cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial peptide. Tertiary structure of CRAMP in TFE/$H_2O$ (1 : 1, v/v) solution has been determined by NMR spectroscopy previously and consists of two amphipathic $\alpha-helices$ from Leu4 to Lys10 and from Gly16 to Leu33. These two helices are connected by a flexible region from Gly11 to Gly16. Analysis of series of fragments composed of various portion of CRAMP revealed that an 18-residue fragment with the sequence from Gly16 to Leu33 (CRAMP-18) was found to retain antibacterial activity without cytotoxicity. The effects of two Phe residues at positions 14 and 15 of CRAMP-18 on structure, antibacterial activity, and interaction with lipid membranes were investigated by $Phe^{14,15}$ ${\rightarrow}$ Ala substitution (CRAMP-18-A) in the present study. Substitution of Phe with Ala in CRAMP-18 caused a significant reduction on antibacterial and membrane-disrupting activities. Tertiary structures of CRAMP-18 in 50% TFE/$H_2O$ (1 : 1, v : v) solution shows amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helix, from $Glu^2{\;}to{\;}Leu^{18}$, while CRAMP-18-A has relatively short amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helix from $Leu^4{\;}to{\;}Ala^{15}$. These results suggest that the hydrophobic property of $Phe^{14}{\;}and{\;}Phe^15$ in CRAMP-18 is essential for its antibacterial activity, ${\alpha}$-helical structure, and interactions with phospholipid membranes.