Synthesis and Biological Characterization of Indolicidin Analogues

Indolicidin has been known to have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities against Gram negative and positive bacteria. Its eight analogues were chemically synthesized. The analogue design was based on the analysis of sequence to elucidate the role of some residues in the antibacterial mechanism of indolicidin. Bactericidal activities were assayed against Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris, and the membrane perturbing abilities of the peptides were assayed using a dye containing liposome. Among the eight analogues, $[Gly^4, Gly^6]-Indo,\;[Ile^6,Ile^8]-Indo,\;[Lys^{12}]-Indo$ and $[Thr^2,Tyr^9]-Indo$ showed enhanced antibacterial activities. These results suggest that proline and cationic residues are important in the bactericidal activity of indolicidin. We tried to describe the antimicrobial mechanism of indolicidin with these results.