Triintsin, a human pathogenic fungus-derived defensin with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

Abstract

Since there is a symbiotic and competitive relationship between microorganisms in the same ecological niche, fungal defensins have been found to be important resources for antimicrobial peptides. Here, a fungal defensin, triintsin, was characterized in a clinical isolate of Trichophyton interdigitale from a patient with onychomycosis. The comparison of its genomic and mRNA sequences showed the gene organization and structure of three coding exons separated by two introns. The precursor peptide of triintsin contained 85 amino acid residues, which were composed of three parts including an N-terminal signal domain of 21 residues, a pro-peptide of 47 residues that ended at lysine-arginine and a mature peptide of 38 residues at the C-terminus. The 3D-structure established by homology modeling revealed that triintsin presented a representative typical cysteine-stabilized α-helical and β-sheet fold. The reductive linear peptide of triintsin was obtained by chemical synthesis. After cyclization to form three pairs of disulfide bonds, the oxidative-type peptide displayed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria but also showed anti-fungal activity. Moreover, triintsin can effectively inhibit the growth of clinical strains. Altogether, the peptide is a human pathogenic fungus-derived defensin with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

• Authors: Bingzheng Shen, Jinchun Song, Yonghui Zhao, Yaoyun Zhang, Gaomin Liu, Xueke Li, Xingchen Guo, Wenxin Li, Zhijian Cao, Yingliang Wu
• Journal: Peptides (Peptides) Vol. 107 Pg. 61-67 (09 2018) ISSN: 1873-5169 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 30102941 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Defensins
• Fungal Proteins

Topics

• Anti-Bacterial Agents (pharmacology)
• Defensins (chemistry, metabolism, pharmacology)
• Female
• Foot Dermatoses (microbiology)
• Fungal Proteins (chemistry, metabolism, pharmacology)
• Gram-Negative Bacteria (drug effects)
• Gram-Positive Bacteria (drug effects)
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Onychomycosis (microbiology)
• Protein Conformation
• Protein Domains
• Sequence Analysis, Protein
• Tinea (microbiology)
• Trichophyton (chemistry)