Philippe Bertani

Structural Determinants of Antimicrobial and Antiplasmodial Activity and Selectivity in Histidine-rich Amphipathic Cationic Peptides

Designed histidine-rich amphipathic cationic peptides, such as LAH4, have enhanced membrane disruption and antibiotic properties when the peptide adopts an alignment parallel to the membrane surface. Although this was previously achieved by lowering the pH, here we have designed a new generation of histidine-rich peptides that adopt a surface alignment at neutral pH. In vitro, this new generation of peptides are powerful antibiotics in terms of the concentrations required for antibiotic activity; the spectrum of target bacteria, fungi, and parasites; and the speed with which they kill. Further modifications to the peptides, including the addition of more hydrophobic residues at the N terminus, the inclusion of a helix-breaking proline residue or using d-amino acids as building blocks, modulated the biophysical properties of the peptides and led to substantial changes in toxicity to human and parasite cells but had only a minimal effect on the antibacterial and antifungal activity. Using a range of biophysical methods, in particular solid-state NMR, we show that the peptides are highly efficient at disrupting the anionic lipid component of model membranes. However, we also show that effective pore formation in such model membranes may be related to, but is not essential for, high antimicrobial activity by cationic amphipathic helical peptides. The information in this study comprises a new layer of detail in the understanding of the action of cationic helical antimicrobial peptides and shows that rational design is capable of producing potentially therapeutic membrane active peptides with properties tailored to their function.

Structure and Alignment of the Membrane-Associated Peptaibols Ampullosporin A and Alamethicin by Oriented 15N and 31P Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Ampullosporin A and alamethicin are two members of the peptaibol family of antimicrobial peptides. These compounds are produced by fungi and are characterized by a high content of hydrophobic amino acids, and in particular the alpha-tetrasubstituted amino acid residue ?-aminoisobutyric acid. Here ampullosporin A and alamethicin were uniformly labeled with (15)N, purified and reconstituted into oriented phophatidylcholine lipid bilayers and investigated by proton-decoupled (15)N and (31)P solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Whereas alamethicin (20 amino acid residues) adopts transmembrane alignments in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) or 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) membranes the much shorter ampullosporin A (15 residues) exhibits comparable configurations only in thin membranes. In contrast the latter compound is oriented parallel to the membrane surface in 1,2-dimyristoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and POPC bilayers indicating that hydrophobic mismatch has a decisive effect on the membrane topology of these peptides. Two-dimensional (15)N chemical shift -(1)H-(15)N dipolar coupling solid-state NMR correlation spectroscopy suggests that in their transmembrane configuration both peptides adopt mixed alpha-/3(10)-helical structures which can be explained by the restraints imposed by the membranes and the bulky alpha-aminoisobutyric acid residues. The (15)N solid-state NMR spectra also provide detailed information on the helical tilt angles. The results are discussed with regard to the antimicrobial activities of the peptides.

Membrane structure and conformational changes of the antibiotic heterodimeric peptide distinctin by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The heterodimeric antimicrobial peptide distinctin is composed of 2 linear peptide chains of 22- and 25-aa residues that are connected by a single intermolecular S-S bond. This heterodimer has been considered to be a unique example of a previously unrecorded class of bioactive peptides. Here the 2 distinctin chains were prepared by chemical peptide synthesis in quantitative amounts and labeled with 15N, as well as 15N and 2H, at selected residues, respectively, and the heterodimer was formed by oxidation. CD spectroscopy indicates a high content of helical secondary structures when associated with POPC/POPG 3:1 vesicles or in membrane-mimetic environments. The propensity for helix formation follows the order heterodimer >chain 2 >chain 1, suggesting that peptide-peptide and peptide-lipid interactions both help in stabilizing this secondary structure. In a subsequent step the peptides were reconstituted into oriented phospholipid bilayers and investigated by 2H and proton-decoupled 15N solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Whereas chain 2 stably inserts into the membrane at orientations close to perfectly parallel to the membrane surface in the presence or absence of chain 1, the latter adopts a more tilted alignment, which further increases in the heterodimer. The data suggest that membrane interactions result in considerable conformational rearrangements of the heterodimer. Therefore, chain 2 stably anchors the heterodimer in the membrane, whereas chain 1 interacts more loosely with the bilayer. These structural observations are consistent with the antimicrobial activities when the individual chains are compared to the dimer.

A spectroscopic study of the membrane interaction of the antimicrobial peptide Pleurocidin.

The cationic amphipathic α-helical antibiotic peptide, pleurocidin, from the winter flounder Pleuronectes americanus associates strongly with anionic membranes where it is able to translocate across the membrane, cause dye leakage from vesicles and induce pore like channel conductance. To investigate the mechanism of pleurocidin antibiotic activity in more detail we have applied a variety of spectroscopic techniques to study the interaction of pleurocidin with model membranes. At neutral pH the peptide inserts into membranes containing anionic lipids and, as shown by proton-decoupled 15N solid-state NMR spectroscopy of macroscopically oriented samples, is aligned parallel to the membrane surface. 2H solid-state NMR spectroscopy of chain deuterated phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) lipids in mixed membranes shows that pleurocidin interacts with both the zwitterionic PE and anionic PG but disrupts the lipid acyl chain order of the anionic PG lipids more effectively. At acidic pH the three histidine residues of pleurocidin become protonated and positively charged which does not alter the membrane disrupting effect nor the location of the peptide in the membrane. The results are interpreted in terms of a structural model for pleurocidin inserted into anionic lipid membranes and the implications of our data are discussed in terms of a general mechanism for the antibiotic activity.

19F/29Si distance determination in fluoride-containing octadecasil by Hartmann–Hahn cross-polarization under fast magic-angle spinning

19F/29Si Hartmann-Hahn continuous wave cross-polarization (CP) has been applied under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) to a powder sample of octadecasil. Strong oscillations occur during CP on a sideband matching condition between the isolated 29Si-19F spin pairs formed by the silicons in the D4R units and the fluoride anions. The magnitude of the dipolar coupling constant was deduced directly from the line-splitting between the intense singularities of the Pake-like patterns obtained by Fourier transformation of the oscillatory polarization transfer. The corresponding Si-F internuclear distance, r = 2.62 +/- 0.05 A, is found to be in very good agreement with the X-ray crystal structure and the value of 2.69 +/- 0.04 A recently reported from rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) and transferred echo double resonance (TEDOR) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Furthermore, the CP technique is still reliable under fast MAS where both REDOR and TEDOR sequences suffer from severe artefacts due to finite pulse lengths. In octadecasil, a spinning frequency of approximately 14 kHz is shown to be necessary for an effective suppression of 19F-19F spin diffusion. The influences of experimental missettings and radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity are taken into account.

15N chemical shift referencing in solid state NMR.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy has much advanced during the last decade and provides a multitude of data that can be used for high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules, polymers, inorganic compounds or macromolecules. In some cases the chemical shift referencing has become a limiting factor to the precision of the structure calculations and we have therefore evaluated a number of methods used in proton-decoupled (15)N solid-state NMR spectroscopy. For (13)C solid-state NMR spectroscopy adamantane is generally accepted as an external standard, but to calibrate the (15)N chemical shift scale several standards are in use. As a consequence the published chemical shift values exhibit considerable differences (up to 22 ppm). In this paper we report the (15)N chemical shift of several commonly used references compounds in order to allow for comparison and recalibration of published data and future work. We show that (15)NH4Cl in its powdered form (at 39.3 ppm with respect to liquid NH3) is a suitable external reference as it produces narrow lines when compared to other reference compounds and at the same time allows for the set-up of cross-polarization NMR experiments. The compound is suitable to calibrate magic angle spinning and static NMR experiments. Finally the temperature variation of (15)NH4Cl chemical shift is reported.

Structure, dynamics and topology of membrane polypeptides by oriented 2H solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Knowledge of the structure, dynamics and interactions of polypeptides when associated with phospholipid bilayers is key to understanding the functional mechanisms of channels, antibiotics, signal- or translocation peptides. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy on samples uniaxially aligned relative to the magnetic field direction offers means to determine the alignment of polypeptide bonds and domains relative to the bilayer normal. Using this approach the 15N chemical shift of amide bonds provides a direct indicator of the approximate helical tilt, whereas the 2H solid-state NMR spectra acquired from peptides labelled with 3,3,3-2H3-alanines contain valuable complimentary information for a more accurate analysis of tilt and rotation pitch angles. The deuterium NMR line shapes are highly sensitive to small variations in the alignment of the Cα–Cβ bond relative to the magnetic field direction and, therefore, also the orientational distribution of helices relative to the membrane normal. When the oriented membrane samples are investigated with their normal perpendicular to the magnetic field direction, the rate of rotational diffusion can be determined in a semi-quantitative manner and thereby the aggregation state of the peptides can be analysed. Here the deuterium NMR approach is first introduced showing results from model amphipathic helices. Thereafter investigations of the viral channel peptides Vpu1–27 and Influenza A M222–46 are shown. Whereas the 15N chemical shift data confirm the transmembrane helix alignments of these hydrophobic sequences, the deuterium spectra indicate considerable mosaic spread in the helix orientations. At least two peptide populations with differing rotational correlation times are apparent in the deuterium spectra of the viral channels suggesting an equilibrium between monomeric peptides and oligomeric channel configurations under conditions where solid-state NMR structural studies of these peptides have previously been performed.

Solid-State NMR Investigations of Membrane-Associated Antimicrobial Peptides

Solid-state NMR and other biophysical investigations have revealed many mechanistic details about the interactions of antimicrobial peptides with membranes. These studies have shaped our view on how these peptides cause the killing of bacteria, fungi, or tumour cells and how they permeabilize model membranes. As a result, we better understand the biological activities of these peptides and we are now able to design new and better sequences. Here we present some of the tools that have allowed these solid-state NMR investigations, including detailed protocols on how to reconstitute the peptides into oriented or non-oriented membranes as well as simple set-up procedures for (2)H as well as proton-decoupled (31)P or (15)N solid-state NMR measurements. Static and magic angle spinning experiments are described. Where adequate, the special requirements for or limitations of some of the measurements are discussed. Solid-state NMR spectra of both lipids and peptides have been recorded, and through the ensemble of measurements a detailed picture of these complex peptide-lipid supramolecular systems has finally emerged.

Helix orientations in membrane-associated Bcl-XL determined by 15N-solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Controlled cell death is fundamental to tissue hemostasis and apoptosis malfunctions can lead to a wide range of diseases. Bcl-xL is an anti-apoptotic protein the function of which is linked to its reversible interaction with mitochondrial outer membranes. Its interfacial and intermittent bilayer association makes prediction of its bound structure difficult without using methods able to extract data from dynamic systems. Here we investigate Bcl-xL associated with oriented lipid bilayers at physiological pH using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The data are consistent with a C-terminal transmembrane anchoring sequence and an average alignment of the remaining helices, i.e. including helices 5 and 6, approximately parallel to the membrane surface. Data from several biophysical approaches confirm that after removal of the C-terminus from Bcl-xL its membrane interactions are weak. In the presence of membranes Bcl-xL can still interact with a Bak BH3 domain peptide suggesting a model where the hydrophobic C-terminus of the protein unfolds and inserts into the membrane. During this conformational change the Bcl-xL hydrophobic binding pocket becomes accessible for protein–protein interactions whilst the structure of the N-terminal region remains intact.

Membrane interactions of phylloseptin-1, -2, and -3 peptides by oriented solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Phylloseptin-1, -2, and -3 are three members of the family of linear cationic antimicrobial peptides found in tree frogs. The highly homologous peptides encompass 19 amino acids, and only differ in the amino acid composition and charge at the six most carboxy-terminal residues. Here, we investigated how such subtle changes are reflected in their membrane interactions and how these can be correlated to their biological activities. To this end, the three peptides were labeled with stable isotopes, reconstituted into oriented phospholipid bilayers, and their detailed topology determined by a combined approach using (2)H and (15)N solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Although phylloseptin-2 and -3 adopt perfect in-plane alignments, the tilt angle of phylloseptin-1 deviates by 8° probably to assure a more water exposed localization of the lysine-17 side chain. Furthermore, different azimuthal angles are observed, positioning the amphipathic helices of all three peptides with the charged residues well exposed to the water phase. Interestingly, our studies also reveal that two orientation-dependent (2)H quadrupolar splittings from methyl-deuterated alanines and one (15)N amide chemical shift are sufficient to unambiguously determine the topology of phylloseptin-1, where quadrupolar splittings close to the maximum impose the most stringent angular restraints. As a result of these studies, a strategy is proposed where the topology of a peptide structure can be determined accurately from the labeling with (15)N and (2)H isotopes of only a few amino acid residues.