Identification of an antimicrobial peptide from human methionine sulfoxide reductase B3

BMB Rep. 2011 Oct;44(10):669-73. doi: 10.5483/BMBRep.2011.44.10.669.

Abstract

Human methionine sulfoxide reductase B3A (hMsrB3A) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) reductase that catalyzes the stereospecific reduction of methionine-R-sulfoxide to methionine in proteins. In this work, we identified an antimicrobial peptide from hMsrB3A protein. The N-terminal ER-targeting signal peptide (amino acids 1-31) conferred an antimicrobial effect in Escherichia coli cells. Sequence and structural analyses showed that the overall positively charged ER signal peptide had an Argand Pro-rich region and a potential hydrophobic α-helical segment that contains 4 cysteine residues. The potential α-helical region was essential for the antimicrobial activity within E. coli cells. A synthetic peptide, comprised of 2-26 amino acids of the signal peptide, was effective at killing Gram-negative E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella paratyphi, but had no bactericidal activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents* / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents* / pharmacology
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / chemistry
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / genetics
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides* / pharmacology
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases / chemistry*
  • Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases / genetics
  • Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases / metabolism
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Models, Molecular
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Sorting Signals / genetics*

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Protein Sorting Signals
  • Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases
  • MSRB3 protein, human