Microbial peptides

Fig. 6.9. Rationale for the design of peptidic prodrugs (6.15) of 5-fluorouracil (6.17) targeting microbial peptides permeases and peptidases [37]...

Nucleophilic attack by the amino group of the neighbouring aminoacyl thioester is catalysed by the C domain, and this results in amide (peptide) bond formation. Enzyme-controlled biosynthesis in this manner is a feature of many microbial peptides, especially those containing unusual amino acids not encoded by DNA and where post-translational modification (see Section 13.1) is unlikely. 

Bulet, P, Stocklin, R., and Menin, L. (2004) Anti-microbial peptides from invertebrates to vertebrates. Immunol. Rev. 198,169-184. 

Grogan, J.L., Kramer, A., Nogai, A., et al. (1999) Cross-reactivity of myelin basic protein-specific T cells with multiple microbial peptides Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induction in TCR transgenic mice. J. Immunol. 163, 3764-3770. 

Dorschner, R.A., Pestonjamasp, V.K., Tamakuwala, S et al. (2001) Cutaneous injury induces the release of cathelicidin anti-microbial peptides active against group A streptococcus. J. Invest. Dermatol. 117, 91-97. 

SteUces-Ritter, U., Wyzgol, K., and Kula, M. 1995. Purification and characterization of a newly screened microbial peptide amidase. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 44 393-8. 

P NMR has been used to investigate the effects of three anti-microbial peptides isolated from Australian tree frogs Litoria caerulea and L. genimacu-lata on the cell membranes of Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The wide-spectrum antibiotic peptides caerin 1.1 and maculatin 1.1 disrupted cell membranes causing an increase in the isotropic P NMR signal. However, caerin 4.1, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, did not affect the P spectra of these bacteria. ... 

Two distinct classes of anti-microbial peptides have recently been reported to be produced in Solarium tuberosum (potato). The snakin proteins (StSNl and 2) are cys-teine-rich basic proteins which weigh 7 kDa and show activity against a variety of plant bacterial pathogens including Cla-... 

Cho, J.-H., Homma, K.-I., Kanegasaki, S. and Natori, S. (1999) Activation of human neutrophils by a synthetic anti-microbial peptide, KLKLLLLLKLK-Nh2, via cell surface calreticu-lin. Fur. J. Chem. 266, 878-885. 

From the multitude of microbial peptides only a few selected compounds can be discussed here. Several biologically active substances will be treated, however, in subsequent chapters of this book, for instance peptide hormones in Chap. 7, antibiotics, ionophores and toxins in Chap. 9. Here we describe three long-known compounds which attracted the interest of the, at that time still small, circle of peptide chemists. 

Probably the longest-known microbial peptide is lycomarasmin of Plattner and Clauson-Kaas in 1945 [21]. It is a phy to toxin that causes curling and wilting... 

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