Metal-binding and nuclease activity of an antimicrobial peptide analogue of the salivary histatin 5

The synthesis and characterization of a new peptide, an analogue of the histatin 5 named amino terminal C[u.sup.2+] and N[i.sup.2+] (ATCUN)-C16, which contains both metal-binding centers is reported. The results have shown that the salivary peptides preserve anticandidal activity and display a higher propensity to assume a stable conformation in a hydrophobic environment than do histatin 5 and the C16 peptide that contains the 16 residues of the C-terminal part of histatin 5.