Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Biochemical Journal logoLink to Biochemical Journal
. 1994 Mar 15;298(Pt 3):623–628. doi: 10.1042/bj2980623

Characterization of the antimicrobial peptide derived from sapecin B, an antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly).

K Yamada 1, S Natori 1
PMCID: PMC1137905  PMID: 8141776

Abstract

Sapecin B, an antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina, was divided into four peptides. A hendecapeptide derived from its helix region was found to have comparable antibacterial activity with that of the complete protein. This peptide had a much wider spectrum of antimicrobial activity than that of sapecin B, exhibiting activity on not only Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative), but also some yeasts, including Candida albicans. The peptide was shown to bind to liposomes containing acidic phospholipids and cause release of entrapped glucose, suggesting that its primary site of action is the bacterial membrane. Its antimicrobial activity could be increased by substituting various amino acid residues for hydrophobic and/or basic ones.

Full text

PDF
623

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ando K., Okada M., Natori S. Purification of sarcotoxin II, antibacterial proteins of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly) larvae. Biochemistry. 1987 Jan 13;26(1):226–230. doi: 10.1021/bi00375a030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baba K., Okada M., Kawano T., Komano H., Natori S. Purification of sarcotoxin III, a new antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina. J Biochem. 1987 Jul;102(1):69–74. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a122042. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boman H. G., Hultmark D. Cell-free immunity in insects. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1987;41:103–126. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.41.100187.000535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boman H. G., Wade D., Boman I. A., Wåhlin B., Merrifield R. B. Antibacterial and antimalarial properties of peptides that are cecropin-melittin hybrids. FEBS Lett. 1989 Dec 18;259(1):103–106. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(89)81505-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bontems F., Roumestand C., Boyot P., Gilquin B., Doljansky Y., Menez A., Toma F. Three-dimensional structure of natural charybdotoxin in aqueous solution by 1H-NMR. Charybdotoxin possesses a structural motif found in other scorpion toxins. Eur J Biochem. 1991 Feb 26;196(1):19–28. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1991.tb15780.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bontems F., Roumestand C., Gilquin B., Ménez A., Toma F. Refined structure of charybdotoxin: common motifs in scorpion toxins and insect defensins. Science. 1991 Dec 6;254(5037):1521–1523. doi: 10.1126/science.1720574. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Casteels P., Ampe C., Riviere L., Van Damme J., Elicone C., Fleming M., Jacobs F., Tempst P. Isolation and characterization of abaecin, a major antibacterial response peptide in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Eur J Biochem. 1990 Jan 26;187(2):381–386. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1990.tb15315.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. ELLMAN G. L. Tissue sulfhydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1959 May;82(1):70–77. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(59)90090-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fahey R. C., Newton G. L., Dorian R., Kosower E. M. Analysis of biological thiols: quantitative determination of thiols at the picomole level based upon derivatization with monobromobimanes and separation by cation-exchange chromatography. Anal Biochem. 1981 Mar 1;111(2):357–365. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(81)90573-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fink J., Merrifield R. B., Boman A., Boman H. G. The chemical synthesis of cecropin D and an analog with enhanced antibacterial activity. J Biol Chem. 1989 Apr 15;264(11):6260–6267. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fujiwara S., Imai J., Fujiwara M., Yaeshima T., Kawashima T., Kobayashi K. A potent antibacterial protein in royal jelly. Purification and determination of the primary structure of royalisin. J Biol Chem. 1990 Jul 5;265(19):11333–11337. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hoffmann J. A., Hetru C. Insect defensins: inducible antibacterial peptides. Immunol Today. 1992 Oct;13(10):411–415. doi: 10.1016/0167-5699(92)90092-L. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hultmark D., Engström A., Andersson K., Steiner H., Bennich H., Boman H. G. Insect immunity. Attacins, a family of antibacterial proteins from Hyalophora cecropia. EMBO J. 1983;2(4):571–576. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01465.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hultmark D., Steiner H., Rasmuson T., Boman H. G. Insect immunity. Purification and properties of three inducible bactericidal proteins from hemolymph of immunized pupae of Hyalophora cecropia. Eur J Biochem. 1980 May;106(1):7–16. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1980.tb05991.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kinsky S. C., Haxby J. A., Zopf D. A., Alving C. R., Kinsky C. B. Complement-dependent damage to liposomes prepared from pure lipids and Forssman hapten. Biochemistry. 1969 Oct;8(10):4149–4158. doi: 10.1021/bi00838a036. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lambert J., Keppi E., Dimarcq J. L., Wicker C., Reichhart J. M., Dunbar B., Lepage P., Van Dorsselaer A., Hoffmann J., Fothergill J. Insect immunity: isolation from immune blood of the dipteran Phormia terranovae of two insect antibacterial peptides with sequence homology to rabbit lung macrophage bactericidal peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jan;86(1):262–266. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.1.262. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Matsuyama K., Natori S. Mode of action of sapecin, a novel antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly). J Biochem. 1990 Jul;108(1):128–132. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a123151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Matsuyama K., Natori S. Molecular cloning of cDNA for sapecin and unique expression of the sapecin gene during the development of Sarcophaga peregrina. J Biol Chem. 1988 Nov 15;263(32):17117–17121. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Matsuyama K., Natori S. Purification of three antibacterial proteins from the culture medium of NIH-Sape-4, an embryonic cell line of Sarcophaga peregrina. J Biol Chem. 1988 Nov 15;263(32):17112–17116. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Miller C., Moczydlowski E., Latorre R., Phillips M. Charybdotoxin, a protein inhibitor of single Ca2+-activated K+ channels from mammalian skeletal muscle. Nature. 1985 Jan 24;313(6000):316–318. doi: 10.1038/313316a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Nakajima Y., Qu X. M., Natori S. Interaction between liposomes and sarcotoxin IA, a potent antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly). J Biol Chem. 1987 Feb 5;262(4):1665–1669. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Nakamura T., Furunaka H., Miyata T., Tokunaga F., Muta T., Iwanaga S., Niwa M., Takao T., Shimonishi Y. Tachyplesin, a class of antimicrobial peptide from the hemocytes of the horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus). Isolation and chemical structure. J Biol Chem. 1988 Nov 15;263(32):16709–16713. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Okada M., Natori S. Ionophore activity of sarcotoxin I, a bactericidal protein of Sarcophaga peregrina. Biochem J. 1985 Jul 15;229(2):453–458. doi: 10.1042/bj2290453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Okada M., Natori S. Purification and characterization of an antibacterial protein from haemolymph of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh-fly) larvae. Biochem J. 1983 Jun 1;211(3):727–734. doi: 10.1042/bj2110727. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Romeo D., Skerlavaj B., Bolognesi M., Gennaro R. Structure and bactericidal activity of an antibiotic dodecapeptide purified from bovine neutrophils. J Biol Chem. 1988 Jul 15;263(20):9573–9575. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Rosenthal G. A., Lambert J., Hoffmann D. Canavanine incorporation into the antibacterial proteins of the fly, Phormia terranovae (Diptera), and its effect on biological activity. J Biol Chem. 1989 Jun 15;264(17):9768–9771. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Selsted M. E., Novotny M. J., Morris W. L., Tang Y. Q., Smith W., Cullor J. S. Indolicidin, a novel bactericidal tridecapeptide amide from neutrophils. J Biol Chem. 1992 Mar 5;267(7):4292–4295. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wade D., Boman A., Wåhlin B., Drain C. M., Andreu D., Boman H. G., Merrifield R. B. All-D amino acid-containing channel-forming antibiotic peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jun;87(12):4761–4765. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.12.4761. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Yamada K., Natori S. Purification, sequence and antibacterial activity of two novel sapecin homologues from Sarcophaga embryonic cells: similarity of sapecin B to charybdotoxin. Biochem J. 1993 Apr 1;291(Pt 1):275–279. doi: 10.1042/bj2910275. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Biochemical Journal are provided here courtesy of The Biochemical Society

RESOURCES