Antibacterial activity of a synthetic peptide (PR-26) derived from PR-39, a proline-arginine-rich neutrophil antimicrobial peptide

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1996 Jan;40(1):115-21. doi: 10.1128/AAC.40.1.115.

Abstract

PR-39 is a proline-arginine-rich (PR) neutrophil antibacterial peptide originally identified and purified from the porcine small intestine. We report on the synthesis of a functional antibacterial domain of PR-39, the first 26 amino acid residues of the NH2 terminus. PR-26 was as potent as or more potent than PR-39 against enteric gram-negative bacteria. This truncated form of PR-39 potentiated neutrophil phagocytosis of Salmonella choleraesuis and decreased the level of S. typhimurium invasion into intestinal epithelial cells. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that these peptides did not lyse cells by pore-forming mechanisms; however, they potentiated the antibacterial capabilities of a pore-forming peptide, magainin A. In addition, PR-26 was not toxic to epithelial cells at concentrations several times greater than its bactericidal concentration. These data suggest that PR-39 and its functional domain, PR-26, may potentiate the host's defense capabilities against gram-negative infections.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides*
  • Arginine / chemistry
  • Cattle
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic
  • Enterobacteriaceae / drug effects
  • Enterobacteriaceae / immunology
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Neutrophils / drug effects
  • Neutrophils / immunology*
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Phagocytosis / drug effects
  • Proline / chemistry
  • Rats
  • Salmonella typhimurium / ultrastructure
  • Swine

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • PR 26
  • Peptides
  • PR 39
  • Arginine
  • Proline