A detailed description of the characteristics of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is highly demanded, since the resistance against traditional antibiotics is an emerging problem in medicine. They are part of the innate immune system in every organism, and they are very efficient in the protection against bacteria, viruses, fungi and even cancer cells. Their advantage is that their target is the cell membrane, in contrast to antibiotics which disturb the metabolism of the respective cell type. This allows AMPs to be more active and faster. The lack of an efficient therapy for some cancer types and the evolvement of resistance against existing antitumor agents make AMPs promising in cancer therapy besides being an alternative to traditional antibiotics. The aim of this work was the physical-chemical characterization of two fragments of LL-37, a human antimicrobial peptide from the cathelicidin family. The fragments LL-32 and LL-20 exhibited contrary behavior in biological experiments concerning their activity against bacterial cells, human cells and human cancer cells. LL-32 had even a higher activity than LL-37, while LL-20 had almost no effect. The interaction of the two fragments with model membranes was systematically studied in this work to understand their mode of action. Planar lipid films were mainly applied as model systems in combination with IR-spectroscopy and X-ray scattering methods. Circular Dichroism spectroscopy in bulk systems completed the results. In the first approach, the structure of the peptides was determined in aqueous solution and compared to the structure of the peptides at the air/water interface. In bulk, both peptides are in an unstructured conformation. Adsorbed and confined to at the air-water interface, the peptides differ drastically in their surface activity as well as in the secondary structure. While LL-32 transforms into an α-helix lying flat at the water surface, LL-20 stays partly unstructured. This is in good agreement with the high antimicrobial activity of LL-32. In the second approach, experiments with lipid monolayers as biomimetic models for the cell membrane were performed. It could be shown that the peptides fluidize condensed monolayers of negatively charged DPPG which can be related to the thinning of a bacterial cell membrane. An interaction of the peptides with zwitterionic PCs, as models for mammalian cells, was not clearly observed, even though LL-32 is haemolytic. In the third approach, the lipid monolayers were more adapted to the composition of human erythrocyte membranes by incorporating sphingomyelin (SM) into the PC monolayers. Physical-chemical properties of the lipid films were determined and the influence of the peptides on them was studied. It could be shown that the interaction of the more active LL-32 is strongly increased for heterogeneous lipid films containing both gel and fluid phases, while the interaction of LL-20 with the monolayers was unaffected. The results indicate an interaction of LL-32 with the membrane in a detergent-like way. Additionally, the modelling of the peptide interaction with cancer cells was performed by incorporating some negatively charged lipids into the PC/SM monolayers, but the increased charge had no effect on the interaction of LL-32. It was concluded, that the high anti-cancer activity of the peptide originates from the changed fluidity of cell membrane rather than from the increased surface charge. Furthermore, similarities to the physical-chemical properties of melittin, an AMP from the bee venom, were demonstrated. / Aufgrund der steigenden Resistenzen von Zellstämmen gegen traditionelle Therapeutika sind alternative medizinische Behandlungsmöglichkeiten für bakterielle Infektionen und Krebs stark gefragt. Antimikrobielle Peptide (AMPs) sind Bestandteil der unspezifischen Immunabwehr und kommen in jedem Organismus vor. AMPs lagern sich von außen an die Zellmembran an und zerstören ihre Integrität. Das macht sie effizient und vor allem schnell in der Wirkung gegen Bakterien, Viren, Pilzen und sogar Krebszellen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit lag in der physikalisch-chemischen Charakterisierung zweier Peptidfragmente die unterschiedliche biologische Aktivität aufweisen. Die Peptide LL-32 und LL-20 waren Teile des humanen LL-37 aus der Kathelizidin-Familie. LL-32 wies eine stärke Aktivität als das Mutterpeptid auf, während LL-20 kaum aktiv gegen die verschiedenen Zelltypen war. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Wechselwirkung der Peptide mit Zellmembranen systematisch anhand von zweidimensionalen Modellmembranen in dieser Arbeit untersucht. Dafür wurden Filmwaagenmessungen mit IR-spektroskopischen und Röntgenstreumethoden gekoppelt. Circulardichroismus-Spektroskopie im Volumen komplementierte die Ergebnisse. In der ersten Näherung wurde die Struktur der Peptide in Lösung mit der Struktur an der Wasser/Luft-Grenzfläche verglichen. In wässriger Lösung sind beide Peptidfragmente unstrukturiert, nehmen jedoch eine α-helikale Sekundärstruktur an, wenn sie an die Wasser/Luft-Grenzfläche adsorbiert sind. Das biologisch unwirksamere LL-20 bleibt dabei teilweise ungeordnet. Das steht im Zusammenhang mit einer geringeren Grenzflächenaktivität des Peptids. In der Zweiten Näherung wurden Versuche mit Lipidmonoschichten als biomimetisches Modell für die Wechselwirkung mit der Zellmembran durchgeführt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich die Peptide fluidisierend auf negativ geladene Dipalmitylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) Monoschichten auswirken, was einer Membranverdünnung an Bakterienzellen entspricht. Eine Interaktion der Peptide mit zwitterionischem Phosphatidylcholin (PC), das als Modell für Säugetierzellen verwendet wurde, konnte nicht klar beobachtet werden, obwohl biologische Experimente das hämolytische Verhalten zumindest von LL-32 zeigten. In der dritten Näherung wurde das Membranmodell näher an die Membran von humanen Erythrozyten angepasst, indem gemischte Monoschichten aus Sphingomyelin (SM) und PC hergestellt wurden. Die physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften der Lipidfilme wurden zunächst ausgearbeitet und anschließend der Einfluss der Peptide untersucht. Es konnte anhand verschiedener Versuche gezeigt werden, dass die Wechselwirkung von LL-32 mit der Modellmembran verstärkt ist, wenn eine Koexistenz von fluiden und Gelphasen auftritt. Zusätzlich wurde die Wechselwirkung der Peptide mit der Membran von Krebszellen imitiert, indem ein geringer Anteil negativ geladener Lipide in die Monoschicht eingebaut wurde. Das hatte allerdings keinen nachweislichen Effekt, so dass geschlussfolgert werden konnte, dass die hohe Aktivität von LL-32 gegen Krebszellen ihren Grund in der veränderten Fluidität der Membran hat und nicht in der veränderten Oberflächenladung. Darüber hinaus wurden Ähnlichkeiten zu Melittin, einem AMP aus dem Bienengift, dargelegt. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit sprechen für einen Detergenzien-artigen Wirkmechanismus des Peptids LL-32 an der Zellmembran.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-06-07Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:40:48Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 lopesfilho_fc_dr_sjrp_parcial.pdf: 183424 bytes, checksum: 8601f6f72a7635a3c9ada79092a5873d (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2015-06-25T13:01:06Z: lopesfilho_fc_dr_sjrp_parcial.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-06-25T13:03:24Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000694954_20160706.pdf: 183130 bytes, checksum: 1526b9f9e1347a4fb71fe218102cf0ba (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2016-07-25T13:17:36Z: 000694954_20160706.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-07-25T13:18:45Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000694954.pdf: 1071220 bytes, checksum: ead8820e5de7c1e29fdd2ec0459005b1 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Peptídeos antimicrobianos são moléculas biologicamente ativas que, geralmente, tem as membranas fosfolipídicas como alvo primário. Resultados de diferentes técnicas experimentais têm sugerido que esses peptídeos permeabilizam as membranas pela formação de poros. Parte dos peptídeos caracterizados apresentam especificidade de disrupção para membranas de bactérias, em detrimento das membranas dos hospedeiros. Essa característica tem atraído a atenção da comunidade científica internacional, porque indica que estas moléculas podem ser modelos para o desenvolvimento de novos antibióticos, portanto o entendimento do mecanismo de ação, ou seja, do mecanismo de formação de poro, tem extrema importância. Simulações por Dinâmica Molecular foram produzidas para investigarmos o impacto que peptídeos antimicrobianos da família Mastoparano tem sobre membranas lipídicas modelo. Dois cenários foram explorados: (i) de baixa concentração peptídeo/lipídeo, P/L=1/128, que consistia de simulações fine-grained das interações de um peptídeo com uma bicamada pura de 128 lipídeos aniônicos (POPG) ou zwiteriônicos (POPC); (ii) de alta concentração, P/L=1/21, que abordava as interações de seis peptídeos com uma bicamada mista de 128 lipídeos POPC/POPG (1/1) usando uma modelagem coarse-grained. Tomando o peptídeo MP1 como caso paradigmático, verificamos que em baixo P/L é possível sugerir que sua característica seletiva surge da capacidade de coordenar e perturbar maior número de lipídeos em membrana aniônica comparada à neutra. Essa capacidade fica acentuada nas simulações com membrana mista, onde a atração dos lipídeos aniônicos pelos peptídeos catiônicos guiou a separação local e a formação de domínios de lipídeos aniônicos, o que facilitou o afinamento local da membrana e a formação de poro transmembrânico. Esses achados ajudam a explicar como peptídeos / Antimicrobial peptides are biologically active molecules that, usually, have the phospholipid membranes as a primary target. Results from different experimental techniques have suggested these peptides permeabilize membranes by the pore formation. Part of the characterized peptides have specificity of disruption for bacterial membranes, instead of host membrane. This feature has attracted the attention of the international scientific community, because it indicates that these molecules can be models for the development of novel antibiotics, so understanding the mechanism of action, ie, the mechanism of pore formation, is extremely important. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the impact of antimicrobial peptides from the Mastoparano family have on model lipid membranes. Two scenarios were explored: (i) of low peptide/lipid concentration, P/L=1/128, which consisted of fine-grained simulations of the interactions of a peptide with a pure bilayer of 128 anionic (POPG) or zwitterionic (POPC) lipids; (ii) of high concentration, P/L=1/21, which addressed the interactions of six peptides with a mixed bilayer of 128 POPC/POPG (1/1) lipids, using a coarse-grained modeling. Taking the MP1 peptide as a paradigmatic case, we found that in low P/L is possible to suggest that its selective feature arises of its ability to coordinate and disturb large number of lipids in the anionic membrane compared to neutral one. This ability is accentuated in simulations with mixed membrane, where the attraction of the anionic lipids by the cationic peptides led to the local segregation and formation of POPG lipid domains, which facilitated the local thinning of the membrane and the formation of transmembrane pore. These findings help to explain how short peptides, such as MP1, are able of forming pores in a membrane whose thickness is larger than the length of the peptide

Resumo: Neste trabalho estudou-se a estrutura, função e mecanismo de ação do peptídeo antibacteriano Protonectarina-MP (isolado de veneno da vespa social Protonectarina sylveirae) tendo seu resíduo C-terminal nas formas ácida (-OH) e amidada (-NH2). Os peptídeos foram sintetizados, utilizando-se a estratégia Fmoc, purificados por cromatografia líquida de alta performance. O monitoramento do material sintético foi feito por espectrometria de massas ESI-MS e por seqüenciamento através de Química Degradativa de Edman. A estrutura secundária foi investigada pelo uso de espectroscopia de dicroísmo circular e modelagem molecular. Atividade lítica (extravasamento) e interação do resíduo de triptofano em vesículas foram investigadas pelo uso de espectrômetro de fluorescência. Foram realizados ensaios sobre as interações desses peptídeos em meio de vesículas zwitteriônicas e aniônica, formando complexos proteolipossomos que foram submetidos à troca isotópica H/D monitorada por espectrometria de massas ESI-MS e MS/MS. Além disso, foram realizados ensaios biológicos de atividade hemolítica, de desgranulação de mastócito, de liberação da enzima citoplasmática Lactato Desidrogenase e de atividade antimicrobianas. Os dados de CD revelam uma tendência dos peptídeos se estruturarem em hélice-α em ambiente hidrofóbico e em ambiente de membranas. Porém, o mesmo não pode ser observado em meio aquoso. Os modelos obtidos para ambos os peptídeos por modelagem molecular mostram uma estruturação em hélice-α anfipática. Nos ensaios de atividade lítica em vesículas, os peptídeos apresentaram um processo com cooperatividade positiva, com curvas de dose-resposta que mostram uma dependência sigmoidal com a concentração do peptídeo. Os resultados da fluorescência do triptofanos mostram um deslocamento da emissão para a região de onda do azul para o peptídeo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In the present work was studied the structure, function and mechanism of action of the antibacterial peptide Protonectarina-MP (isolated from venom of social wasp Protonectarina sylveirae) with its carboxyamidation (-NH2) and carboxyl-free (-OH) Cterminal forms. The peptides were manually synthesized on-solid phase by using Fmoc strategy and purified under HPLC. The homogeneity of the synthetic material was analyzed by ESI mass spectrometry and Edman Degradation Chemistry. The secondary structure was investigated through circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Lytic activity and peptides interaction with the membranes was also investigated through tryptophan emission, by fluorescence spectrometry. The interaction of peptides with zwitterionic and anionic vesicles was investigated through the combination of H/D exchange and ESI-mass spectrometry. Some biological activities, like: mast cell degranulation, release of cytoplasmic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, hemolysis and antibiosis were investigated for both peptides. The CD spectra revealed that the peptides in hydrophobic environments or in presence of biological membranes have the tendency to form helix conformations; however, organized structures were not observed in aqueous or buffer solutions. The models obtained by molecular modeling show that both peptides form an amphipathic α-helix. The peptides presented a positive cooperative process in the lytic activity of vesicles, with dose-response curves presenting a sigmoidal dependence with the peptide concentration. The results of the fluorescence of tryptophans showed a shift of the emission wavelength to the blue region of the peptide Protonectarina-MP (-NH2), which was not observed for its analogue presenting the C-terminal residue in free acid form. This is indicating a greater interaction of the amidated peptide in membranes, when compared to the peptide... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Orientador: Mario Sergio Palma / Coorientador: João Ruggiero Neto / Banca: Ivo Lebrun / Banca: Pietro Ciancaglini / Mestre

Submitted by Jos? Henrique Henrique (jose.neves@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2017-09-20T20:31:49Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) gabriele_azevedo_cardoso.pdf: 4324631 bytes, checksum: 3efd70a64b9fe1de1234371d61299990 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2017-10-09T13:35:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) gabriele_azevedo_cardoso.pdf: 4324631 bytes, checksum: 3efd70a64b9fe1de1234371d61299990 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-09T13:35:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) gabriele_azevedo_cardoso.pdf: 4324631 bytes, checksum: 3efd70a64b9fe1de1234371d61299990 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) / A necessidade de desenvolvimento de novos agentes antimicrobianos cresce ? medida que se torna maior a resist?ncia de microrganismos aos antibi?ticos usualmente empregados. Nesse sentido, os pept?deos antimicrobianos (PAMs) surgem como uma excelente alternativa para o desenvolvimento de novos antibi?ticos. O presente trabalho prop?s a s?ntese do pept?deo antimicrobiano LyeTx-I para estudos de mecanismo de a??o em membranas bacterianas, empregando diferentes t?cnicas biof?sicas e estruturais. O pept?deo LyeTx-I, composto por 24 res?duos de amino?cidos, foi isolado pela primeira vez do veneno de aracn?deos da esp?cie Lycosa erythrognata. Utilizando como t?cnicas principais a ITC e a RMN para obten??o de par?metros cin?ticos, termodin?micos e da intera??o pept?deo-membrana, foi poss?vel avaliar a rela??o estrutura e atividade do pept?deo LyeTx-I. Foram utilizadas ainda, t?cnicas complementares de CD, extravasamento de CF, fluoresc?ncia de Trp, DLS e, potencial zeta para obter informa??es adicionais acerca do modo de intera??o do pept?deo. Observou-se a predomin?ncia de conforma??o helicoidal do pept?deo LyeTx-I, tanto em meios biomim?ticos zwitteri?nicos, quanto em meios ani?nicos. Em meios ani?nicos, observou-se maior conte?do de ?-h?lice, bem como maior constante de intera??o, enquanto que em presen?a de ambientes zwitteri?nicas foram observadas menor helicidade e constante de intera??o. Os dados termodin?micos, obtidos para ambos os meios, mostraram que o processo de intera??o pept?deo-membrana ? dirigido principalmente pela componente entr?pica, uma vez que a componente ent?lpica ? menor. Os dados estruturais e termodin?micos foram coerentes com os demais estudos biof?sicos. Foi observada a partir da an?lise de extravasamento de CF maior capacidade de forma??o de poros no meio ani?nico. Os dados de fluoresc?ncia intr?nseca de Trp e de supress?o de fluoresc?ncia por acrilamida mostraram maior mudan?a de ambiente qu?mico para apolar, do res?duo de Trp-2, quando em presen?a de meio biomim?tico ani?nico. Dessa forma, o pept?deo apresenta maior capacidade de permeabilizar a membrana ani?nica. Al?m disso, o estudo comparativo entre os meios zwitteri?nicos e ani?nicos, permitiu verificar que, embora a intera??o eletrost?tica seja importante para a intera??o pept?deo-membrana, a permeabiliza??o do LyeTx-I na membrana fosfolip?dica ? fundamental para a lise celular. Dessa forma, este estudo mostra que o pept?deo LyeTx-I apresenta elevada prefer?ncia por intera??o com bicamadas fosfolip?dicas ani?nicas, o que faz dele um potencial agente bactericida. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Qu?mica, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2017. / The demand for the development of new antimicrobial agents increases in line with the resistance of microorganisms to the antibiotics usually employed. In this sense, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) appear as an alternative to the classical antibiotics. The present work proposed the synthesis of the antimicrobial peptide LyeTx-I for studies of mechanism of action in bacterial membranes using a set of biophysical and structural techniques. LyeTx-I peptide is composed of 24 amino acid residues and was isolated for the first time from the venom of the Lycosa erythrognata arachnid species. In order to evaluate the structure-activity relationship of the LyeTx-I, we have employed ITC and NMR as main techniques to obtain the kinetic, thermodynamic and structural parameters of the peptide-membrane interaction. Complementary measurements of CD, CF extravasation, Trp fluorescence, DLS and zeta potential were also used as additional information about the mode of action of the peptide. The ?-helical conformation of the LyeTx-I peptide was observed either in presence of zwitterionic and anionic biomimetic media. Nevertheless, a higher ?-helix content and interaction constant was observed for LyeTx-I in all anionic media when compared to the zwitterionic environments. The thermodynamic data gathered in both media, showed that the peptide-membrane interaction is driven mainly by the entropic contributions, since the enthalpic component is smaller. The structural and thermodynamic data were consistent with the complementary biophysical experiments. It was observed from the CF extravasation a greater capacity of pore formation in the anionic medium. Intrinsic Trp fluorescence showed also a greater change of the residue of Trp-2 to the apolar chemical environment in the presence of anionic biomimetic medium. In this way, the peptide presents a higher capacity to permeabilize the anionic membrane. In addition, the comparative study between the zwitterionic and anionic media, reveals that, although the electrostatic interaction is important to the peptide-membrane interaction, the permeabilization of the LyeTx-I peptide in the phospholipid membrane is fundamental for the cellular lysis. Finally, the study clearly shows the high preference of LyeTx-I for interacting anionic phospholipid bilayers, which makes it a potential bactericidal agent.

Tritrpticina (TRP3) é um peptídeo antimicrobiano com 13 resíduos de amino ácidos com três Ws sequenciais. Com o objetivo de contribuir para a compreensão de seu mecanismo de ação, realizaram-se estudos funcionais e conformacionais da TRP3 e de dois análogos onde um (WLW) ou dois (LWL) W foram substituídos por L. Os peptídeos foram igualmente ativos contra bactérias Gram positivas e negativas. Sua atividade hemolítica requereu concentrações maiores, diminuindo na ordem TRP3>WLW>LWL. Os peptídeos permeabilizaram membranas modelo de E. coli ou contendo fosfolipídios carregados negativamente. Espectros de CD sugeriram que os peptídeos adquirem diferentes conformações ao se ligarem a bicamadas e micelas. Estudos de fluorescência mostraram que a ligação a membranas decresce na ordem: TRP3>WLW>LWL e que os peptídeos se localizam próximos à interface membrana-água. Espectros de RPE de marcadores de spin lipídicos indicaram que a ligação dos peptídeos altera a organização dos lipídios, aumentando o empacotamento molecular / Tritrpticin (TRP3) is a 13-residue antimicrobial peptide that contains three sequential Ws. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of its mechanism of action, functional and conformational studies were performed with TRP3 and two of its analogues where one (WLW) or two (LWL) of the W were replaced by L. The peptides were equally active against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Higher concentrations were required for hemolytic activity which varied in the order: TRP3>WLW>LWL. The peptides permeabilized membranes model membranes mimicking E. coli\'s lipid composition or containing different negatively charged phospholipids. CD spectra suggested the peptides acquired different conformations upon binding to bilayers or micelles. Fluorescence studies showed that membrane binding decreases in the order: TRP3>WLW>LWL and that the peptides are located close to the water-membrane interface. EPR spectra of lipid spin labels indicated that peptide binding alter lipid organization, increasing molecular packing

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-06-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:29:34Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_avr_me_rcla.pdf: 1706887 bytes, checksum: eda68ea29b93397b581e427121535611 (MD5) / Neste trabalho estudou-se a estrutura, função e mecanismo de ação do peptídeo antibacteriano Protonectarina-MP (isolado de veneno da vespa social Protonectarina sylveirae) tendo seu resíduo C-terminal nas formas ácida (-OH) e amidada (-NH2). Os peptídeos foram sintetizados, utilizando-se a estratégia Fmoc, purificados por cromatografia líquida de alta performance. O monitoramento do material sintético foi feito por espectrometria de massas ESI-MS e por seqüenciamento através de Química Degradativa de Edman. A estrutura secundária foi investigada pelo uso de espectroscopia de dicroísmo circular e modelagem molecular. Atividade lítica (extravasamento) e interação do resíduo de triptofano em vesículas foram investigadas pelo uso de espectrômetro de fluorescência. Foram realizados ensaios sobre as interações desses peptídeos em meio de vesículas zwitteriônicas e aniônica, formando complexos proteolipossomos que foram submetidos à troca isotópica H/D monitorada por espectrometria de massas ESI-MS e MS/MS. Além disso, foram realizados ensaios biológicos de atividade hemolítica, de desgranulação de mastócito, de liberação da enzima citoplasmática Lactato Desidrogenase e de atividade antimicrobianas. Os dados de CD revelam uma tendência dos peptídeos se estruturarem em hélice-α em ambiente hidrofóbico e em ambiente de membranas. Porém, o mesmo não pode ser observado em meio aquoso. Os modelos obtidos para ambos os peptídeos por modelagem molecular mostram uma estruturação em hélice-α anfipática. Nos ensaios de atividade lítica em vesículas, os peptídeos apresentaram um processo com cooperatividade positiva, com curvas de dose-resposta que mostram uma dependência sigmoidal com a concentração do peptídeo. Os resultados da fluorescência do triptofanos mostram um deslocamento da emissão para a região de onda do azul para o peptídeo... / In the present work was studied the structure, function and mechanism of action of the antibacterial peptide Protonectarina-MP (isolated from venom of social wasp Protonectarina sylveirae) with its carboxyamidation (-NH2) and carboxyl-free (-OH) Cterminal forms. The peptides were manually synthesized on-solid phase by using Fmoc strategy and purified under HPLC. The homogeneity of the synthetic material was analyzed by ESI mass spectrometry and Edman Degradation Chemistry. The secondary structure was investigated through circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Lytic activity and peptides interaction with the membranes was also investigated through tryptophan emission, by fluorescence spectrometry. The interaction of peptides with zwitterionic and anionic vesicles was investigated through the combination of H/D exchange and ESI-mass spectrometry. Some biological activities, like: mast cell degranulation, release of cytoplasmic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, hemolysis and antibiosis were investigated for both peptides. The CD spectra revealed that the peptides in hydrophobic environments or in presence of biological membranes have the tendency to form helix conformations; however, organized structures were not observed in aqueous or buffer solutions. The models obtained by molecular modeling show that both peptides form an amphipathic α-helix. The peptides presented a positive cooperative process in the lytic activity of vesicles, with dose-response curves presenting a sigmoidal dependence with the peptide concentration. The results of the fluorescence of tryptophans showed a shift of the emission wavelength to the blue region of the peptide Protonectarina-MP (-NH2), which was not observed for its analogue presenting the C-terminal residue in free acid form. This is indicating a greater interaction of the amidated peptide in membranes, when compared to the peptide... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Tritrpticina (TRP3) é um peptídeo antimicrobiano com 13 resíduos de amino ácidos com três Ws sequenciais. Com o objetivo de contribuir para a compreensão de seu mecanismo de ação, realizaram-se estudos funcionais e conformacionais da TRP3 e de dois análogos onde um (WLW) ou dois (LWL) W foram substituídos por L. Os peptídeos foram igualmente ativos contra bactérias Gram positivas e negativas. Sua atividade hemolítica requereu concentrações maiores, diminuindo na ordem TRP3>WLW>LWL. Os peptídeos permeabilizaram membranas modelo de E. coli ou contendo fosfolipídios carregados negativamente. Espectros de CD sugeriram que os peptídeos adquirem diferentes conformações ao se ligarem a bicamadas e micelas. Estudos de fluorescência mostraram que a ligação a membranas decresce na ordem: TRP3>WLW>LWL e que os peptídeos se localizam próximos à interface membrana-água. Espectros de RPE de marcadores de spin lipídicos indicaram que a ligação dos peptídeos altera a organização dos lipídios, aumentando o empacotamento molecular / Tritrpticin (TRP3) is a 13-residue antimicrobial peptide that contains three sequential Ws. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of its mechanism of action, functional and conformational studies were performed with TRP3 and two of its analogues where one (WLW) or two (LWL) of the W were replaced by L. The peptides were equally active against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Higher concentrations were required for hemolytic activity which varied in the order: TRP3>WLW>LWL. The peptides permeabilized membranes model membranes mimicking E. coli\'s lipid composition or containing different negatively charged phospholipids. CD spectra suggested the peptides acquired different conformations upon binding to bilayers or micelles. Fluorescence studies showed that membrane binding decreases in the order: TRP3>WLW>LWL and that the peptides are located close to the water-membrane interface. EPR spectra of lipid spin labels indicated that peptide binding alter lipid organization, increasing molecular packing

L’objectif de ce travail est de caractériser l’interaction entre le Lanréotide – un octapeptide dicationique – et des membranes composées de lipides. Bien que ce peptide soit très soluble, il possède des propriétés d’autoassemblage. Au-delà d’une concentration critique – qui est sensible à la température et à la force ionique – ce peptide s’auto-assemble en nanotubes dont la structure a été résolue par l’équipe. Ce travail de thèse comporte deux volets : d’une part l’étude de l’interaction entre le Lanréotide et des membranes anioniques, d’autre part l’étude de l’interaction entre le Lanréotide et des membranes neutres.Nous adoptons une approche structurale afin de caractériser les mélanges membrane-peptide : diffusion de rayons X, spectroscopie infrarouge (ATR-FTIR), microscopie électronique (coloration négative et cryofracture) ; ainsi qu’une approche quantitative (ultrafiltration et dosage) afin de déterminer la stœchiométrie des interactions. En présence de lipides anioniques, le Lanréotide interagit en totalité avec les membranes jusqu’à les saturer. Cette interaction, qui n’est pas abolie à forte force ionique (2M de NaCl ou de phosphate), provoque un autoassemblage du peptide à la surface des membranes. Ce phénomène génère des autoassemblages mixtes constitués d’un empilement de bicouches de peptide prises en sandwich entre des bicouches de lipides. Ces empilements s’enroulent selon une spirale d’Archimède, c’est-à-dire une spirale régulière dont le pas est constant. Dans ces assemblages mixtes le peptide est organisé dans un nouveau mode d’assemblage dont la structure est ici résolue.Dans le cas des mélanges membranes neutre-Lanréotide, un coefficient de partage du peptide entre l’eau et les lipides est mis en évidence. Ceci suggère que dans ces conditions le peptide peut traverser les membranes. Enfin l’interaction du Lanréotide avec ces membranes provoque une diminution de sa concentration critique d’assemblage. / The aim of this work is to characterize the interaction between the Lanreotide – a dicationic octapeptide – and membranes composed of lipids. Even if the peptide is very soluble, it has self-assembling properties. Above the critical concentration – which is sensitive to both temperature and ionic strength – the peptide self-assembles into nanotubes whose structure has been solved by the team. The present work is divided into two parts: on one side the study of the interaction of the Lanreotide with anionic membranes, on the other one the study of the interaction of the Lanreotide with neutral membranes.We adopted a structural approach to characterize the membrane-peptide mixture: X-ray scattering, vibrational spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), electron microscopy (negative staining and freeze-fracture) ; we also used a quantitative approach (ultrafiltration and peptide quantification) in order to determine the stoichiometry of the interaction. In the presence of anionic lipids, the peptide interacts with membranes until its saturation. This interaction, which is not abolished at high ionic strength (2M NaCl or phosphate), induces the self-assembly of the peptide at the surface of the membrane. This phenomenon generates mixed self-assemblies composed of a stack of peptide bilayers sandwiched by lipids bilayers. These stacks wrap into an Archimedian spiral which is a regular spiral with a constant step. In these mixed assemblies, the peptide is organized in a new architecture compared to the self-assemble nanotubes. This new structure has been characterized and solved in this study.In the case of neutral membrane-Lanreotide mixture, the peptide partitions between water and lipids. This observation suggests that in this condition the peptide is able to cross the membranes. The peptide-membrane interaction also decreases the critical concentration of the peptide.