Structure–activity relationships of the antimicrobial peptide gramicidin S and its analogs: Aqueous solubility, self-association, conformation, antimicrobial activity and interaction with model lipid membranes

AbstractGS10 [cyclo-(VKLdYPVKLdYP)] is a synthetic analog of the naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide gramicidin (GS) in which the two positively charged ornithine (Orn) residues are replaced by two positively charged lysine (Lys) residues and the two less polar aromatic phenylalanine (Phe) residues are replaced by the more polar tyrosine (Tyr) residues. In this study, we examine the effects of these seemingly conservative modifications to the parent GS molecule on the physical properties of the peptide, and on its interactions with lipid bilayer model and biological membranes, by a variety of biophysical techniques. We show that although GS10 retains the largely β-sheet conformation characteristic of GS, it is less structured in both water and membrane-mimetic solvents. GS10 is also more water soluble and less hydrophobic than GS, as predicted, and also exhibits a reduced tendency for self-association in aqueous solution. Surprisingly, GS10 associates more strongly with zwitterionic and anionic phospholipid bilayer model membranes than does GS, despite its greater water solubility, and the presence of anionic phospholipids and cholesterol (Chol) modestly reduces the association of both GS10 and GS to these model membranes. The strong partitioning of both peptides into lipid bilayers is driven by a large favorable entropy change opposed by a much smaller unfavorable enthalpy change. However, GS10 is also less potent than GS at inducing inverted cubic phases in phospholipid bilayer model membranes and at inhibiting the growth of the cell wall-less bacterium Acholeplasma laidlawii B. These results are discussed in terms of the comparative antibiotic and hemolytic activities of these peptides

Comparative Calorimetric and Spectroscopic Studies of the Effects of Lanosterol and Cholesterol on the Thermotropic Phase Behavior and Organization of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Bilayer Membranes

We carried out comparative DSC and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of the effects of cholesterol and lanosterol on the thermotropic phase behavior and organization of DPPC bilayers. Lanosterol is the biosynthetic precursor of cholesterol and differs in having three rather than two axial methyl groups projecting from the β-face of the planar steroid ring system and one axial methyl group projecting from the α-face, whereas cholesterol has none. Our DSC studies indicate that the incorporation of lanosterol is more effective than cholesterol is in reducing the enthalpy of the pretransition. Lanosterol is also initially more effective than cholesterol in reducing the enthalpies of both the sharp and broad components of the main phase transition. However, at sterol concentrations of 50 mol %, lanosterol does not abolish the cooperative hydrocarbon chain-melting phase transition as does cholesterol. Moreover, at higher lanosterol concentrations (∼30–50 mol %), both sharp and broad low-temperature endotherms appear in the DSC heating scans, suggestive of the formation of lanosterol crystallites, and of the lateral phase separation of lanosterol-enriched phospholipid domains, respectively, at low temperatures, whereas such behavior is not observed with cholesterol at comparable concentrations. Our Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies demonstrate that lanosterol incorporation produces a less tightly packed bilayer than does cholesterol, which is characterized by increased hydration in the glycerol backbone region of the DPPC bilayer. These and other results indicate that lanosterol is less miscible in DPPC bilayers than is cholesterol, but perturbs their organization to a greater extent, probably due primarily to the rougher faces and larger cross-sectional area of the lanosterol molecule and perhaps secondarily to its decreased ability to form hydrogen bonds with adjacent DPPC molecules. Nevertheless, lanosterol does appear to produce a lamellar liquid-ordered phase in DPPC bilayers, although this phase is not as tightly packed as comparable cholesterol/DPPC mixtures