Structure and Antibiotic Activity of a Porcine Myeloid Antibacterial Peptide, PMAP-23 and its Analogues

PMAP-23 is a 23-residue antimicrobial peptide derived from porcine myloid cells. In order to investigate the effects of two Pro residues at positions 12 and 15 of PMAP-23 on antibiotic activity, two analogues in which Ala was substituted for Pro residue at position 12 or 15 were synthesized. $Pro^{12}{\rightarrow}Ala$ (PMAPl) or $Pro^{15}{\rightarrow}Ala$(PMAP2) substitution in PMAP-23 caused a significant reduction on antitumor and phospholipid vesicle-disrupting activities, but did not cause a significant effect on antibacterial activity. PMAP-23 displayed the type I ${\beta}-turn$ structure with a negative ellipticity at near 205 om in SDS micelle, whereas PMAP1 and PMAP2 had a somewhat ${\alpha}-helical$ propensity in TFE solution, as compared to PMAP-23. These results suggest that two Pro residues of positions 12 and 15 in PMAP-23 play important roles in the formation of ${\beta}-turn$ structure on lipid membrane and its ${\beta}-turn$ structure may be essential for antibiotic activity including phospholipid vesicle-disrupting property.