Free energy barrier for melittin reorientation from a membrane-bound state to a transmembrane state

An important step in a phospholipid membrane pore formation by melittin antimicrobial peptide is a reorientation of the peptide from a surface into a transmembrane conformation. In this work we perform umbrella sampling simulations to calculate the potential of mean force (PMF) for the reorientation of melittin from a surface-bound state to a transmembrane state and provide a molecular level insight into understanding peptide and lipid properties that influence the existence of the free energy barrier. The PMFs were calculated for a peptide to lipid (P/L) ratio of 1/128 and 4/128. We observe that the free energy barrier is reduced when the P/L ratio increased. In addition, we study the cooperative effect; specifically we investigate if the barrier is smaller for a second melittin reorientation, given that another neighboring melittin was already in the transmembrane state. We observe that indeed the barrier of the PMF curve is reduced in this case, thus confirming the presence of a cooperative effect

riDOM, a Cell-Penetrating Peptide : Interaction with DNA and Heparan Sulfate

DNA condensation in the presence of polycationic molecules is a well-known phenomenon exploited in gene delivery. riDOM (retro-inverso dioleoylmelittin) is a cell-penetrating peptide with excellent transporter properties for DNA. It is a chimeric molecule where ri-melittin is fused to dioleoylphosphoethanolamine. The physical-chemical properties of riDOM in solution and in the presence of DNA and heparan sulfate were investigated with spectroscopic and thermodynamic methods. Dynamic light scattering shows that riDOM in solution aggregates to well-defined nanoparticles with a diameter of ∼13 nm and a ζ-potential of 22 mV, composed of about 220-270 molecules. Binding of riDOM to DNA was studied with dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and isothermal titration calorimetry and was compared with authentic melittin-DNA interaction. riDOM binds tightly to DNA with a microscopic binding constant of 5 × 10(7) M(-1) and a stoichiometry of 12 riDOM per 10 DNA base pairs. In the complex the DNA double strand is completely shielded by the more hydrophobic riDOM molecules. Authentic melittin binds to DNA with a much lower binding constant of 5 × 10(6) M(-1) and lower stoichiometry of 5 melittin per 10 DNA base pairs. The binding enthalpies for riDOM and melittin are small and the binding reactions are entropy-driven. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate are also linear molecules with a negative charge. riDOM binding to heparan sulfate on cell surfaces can therefore interfere with DNA-riDOM binding. riDOM-heparan sulfate complex formation was characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry and spectroscopic methods. The binding constant of riDOM for heparan sulfate is K ≈ 2 × 10(6) M(-1). Authentic melittin has a similar binding constant but riDOM shows a 3-fold higher packing density on heparan sulfate than the distinctly smaller melittin