We analyze the effects of N-terminal acetylation and C-terminal amidation on the cytotoxic properties of β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide tachyplesin I. MTT-assay showed that modified tachyplesin I exhibited increased cytotoxicity toward both tumor and normal human cells. Hemolytic activity of modified tachyplesin I was also higher than that of the initial molecule. In contrast to non-modified tachyplesin I, the peptide with C- and N-terminal modifications is resistant to proteolytic degradation in fresh human serum. C- and N-terminal modifications make tachyplesin I more attractive prototype of anticancer drug due to its more potent cytotoxic effect and better pharmacokinetic properties.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chen J, Xu XM, Underhill C.B, Yang S, Wang L, Chen Y, Hong S, Creswell K, Zhang L. Tachyplesin activates the classic complement pathway to kill tumor cells. Cancer Res. 2005;65(11):4614-4622.
Iwanaga S, Muta T, Shigenaga T, Seki N, Kawano K, Katsu T, Kawabata S. Structure-function relationships of tachyplesins and their analogues. Ciba Found Symp. 1994;186:160-174.
Kawano K, Yoneya T, Miyata T, Yoshikawa K, Tokunaga F, Terada Y, Iwanaga S. Antimicrobial peptide, tachyplesin I, isolated from hemocytes of the horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus). NMR determination of the beta-sheet structure. J. Biol. Chem. 1990;265(26):15 365-15 367.
Morimoto M, Mori H, Otake T, Ueba N, Kunita N, Niwa M, Murakami T, Iwanaga S. Inhibitory effect of tachyplesin I on the proliferation of human immunodeficiency virus in vitro. Chemotherapy. 1991;37(3):206-211.
Murakami T, Niwa M, Tokunaga F, Miyata T, Iwanaga S. Direct virus inactivation of tachyplesin I and its isopeptides from horseshoe crab hemocytes. Chemotherapy. 1991;37(5):327-334.
Ohta M, Ito H, Masuda K, Tanaka S, Arakawa Y, Wacharotayankun R, Kato N. Mechanisms of antibacterial action of tachyplesins and polyphemusins, a group of antimicrobial peptides isolated from horseshoe crab hemocytes. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 1992;36(7):1460-1465.
Ozaki A, Ariki S, Kawabata S. An antimicrobial peptide tachyplesin acts as a secondary secretagogue and amplifies lipopolysaccharide-induced hemocyte exocytosis. FEBS J. 2005;272(15):3863-3871.
Panteleev PV, Bolosov IA, Ovchinnikova TV. Bioengineering and functional characterization of arenicin shortened analogs with enhanced antibacterial activity and cell selectivity. J. Pept. Sci. 2016;22(2):82-91.
Panteleev PV, Ovchinnikova TV. Improved strategy for recombinant production and purification of antimicrobial peptide tachyplesin I and its analogs with high cell selectivity. Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 2015. doi: 10.1002/bab.1456.
Paredes-Gamero EJ, Martins MN, Cappabianco FA, Ide JS, Miranda A. Characterization of dual effects induced by antimicrobial peptides: regulated cell death or membrane disruption. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 2012;1820(7):1062-1072.
Zhang HT, Wu J, Zhang HF, Zhu QF. Efflux of potassium ion is an important reason of HL-60 cells apoptosis induced by tachyplesin. Acta Pharmacol. Sin. 2006;27(10):1367-1374.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 162, No. 12, pp. 722-725, December, 2016
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kuzmin, D.V., Emelianova, A.A., Kalashnikova, M.B. et al. Effect of N- and C-Terminal Modifications on Cytotoxic Properties of Antimicrobial Peptide Tachyplesin I. Bull Exp Biol Med 162, 754–757 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-017-3705-2
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-017-3705-2