Antimicrobial effect and membrane-active mechanism of Urechistachykinins, neuropeptides derived from Urechis unicinctus

Woo Sang Sung, So Hyun Park, Dong Gun Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the antimicrobial effects of Urechistachykinins I and II (UI and UII) and their modes of action. UI and UII showed antimicrobial activities without a hemolytic effect. To investigate the mechanism(s) of UI and UII, cellular localization was examined. Confocal microscopy results showed that peptides were located in the cell envelope. To elucidate the physical changes of membrane induced by UI and UII in Candida albicans, flow cytometry analyses were performed by using bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol, and changes in membrane dynamics were assessed using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene. The results suggest that UI and UII may exert their antimicrobial effect by disrupting the cell membranes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2463-2466
Number of pages4
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume582
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 Jul 2008

Keywords

  • Antimicrobial peptide
  • Membrane-active mechanism
  • Neuropeptide
  • Urechis unicinctus
  • Urechistachykinin

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