1. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Host Defense Peptide Temporin L and Its Q3K Derivative: An Atomic Level View from Aggregation in Water to Bilayer Perturbation.
- Author
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Farrotti A, Conflitti P, Srivastava S, Ghosh JK, Palleschi A, Stella L, and Bocchinfuso G
- Subjects
- Lipopolysaccharides chemistry, Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides chemistry, Lipid Bilayers chemistry, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Peptides chemistry, Proteins chemistry, Water chemistry
- Abstract
Temporin L (TempL) is a 13 residue Host Defense Peptide (HDP) isolated from the skin of frogs. It has a strong affinity for lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which is related to its high activity against Gram-negative bacteria and also to its strong tendency to neutralize the pro-inflammatory response caused by LPS release from inactivated bacteria. A designed analog with the Q3K substitution shows an enhancement in both these activities. In the present paper, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations have been used to investigate the origin of these improved properties. To this end, we have studied the behavior of the peptides both in water solution and in the presence of LPS lipid-A bilayers, demonstrating that the main effect through which the Q3K substitution improves the peptide activities is the destabilization of peptide aggregates in water., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.
- Published
- 2017
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