Structure, Synthesis, and Molecular Cloning of Dermaseptins B, a Family of Skin Peptide Antibiotics
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: Analysis of antimicrobial activities that are present in the skin secretions of the South American frog Phyllomedusa bicolor revealed six polycationic (lysine-rich) and amphipathic alpha-helical peptides, 24-33 residues long, termed dermaseptins B1 to B6, respectively. Prepro-dermaseptins B all contain an almost identical signal peptide, which is followed by a conserved acidic propiece, a processing signal Lys-Arg, and a dermaseptin progenitor sequence. The 22-residue signal peptide plus the first 3 residues of the acidic propiece are encoded by conserved nucleotides encompassed by the first coding exon of the dermaseptin genes. The 25-residue amino-terminal region of prepro-dermaseptins B shares 50% identity with the corresponding region of precursors for D-amino acid containing opioid peptides or for antimicrobial peptides originating from the skin of distantly related frog species. The remarkable similarity found between prepro-proteins that encode end products with strikingly different sequences, conformations, biological activities and modes of action suggests that the corresponding genes have evolved through dissemination of a conserved "secretory cassette" exon.
Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry
Authors: Stéphane Charpentier, Mohamed Amiche, Jan Mester, Véronique Vouille, Jean-Pierre Le Caer, Pierre Nicolas, Antoine Delfour
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,430
OpenAlex ID: W1983548824