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This work presents a comparative study of proton transfer activity (PTA) of two cationic (+6) antimicrobial peptides, β-structural arenicin-2 and α-helical melittin. A new approach was proposed for the detection of passive proton transfer by using proteoliposomes containing bacteriorhodopsin, which creates a small light-induced electrochemical proton gradient ∆ΔpH. Addition of several nanomoles of the peptides lowers ∆ΔpH that is proximately indicative of the pore formation. The quantitative analysis of sigmoidal dependences of ∆pH on the peptides concentration was carried out using liposomes prepared from PC, PC/PE, PC/PE/PI and PC/PG. Substitution of PC-containing liposomes with PE-containing ones, having negative spontaneous curvature, reduced the PTA of α-helical melittin and increased that of β-structural arenicin-2. This result indicates an essential difference in the pore formation by these peptides. Further increase of PTA in response to arenicin-2 (in contrast to melittin) was observed in the liposomes prepared from PC/PE/PI. The data analysis leads to the conclusion that PTA is influenced by (i) efficiency of the pore assemblage, which depends on the structure of pore-forming peptides, and the spontaneous curvature of lipids and (ii) the presence of mobile protons in the polar head groups of phospholipids., (Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The linear peptide gramicidin A (gA) forms prototypical ion channels specific for monovalent cations and has been extensively used to study the organization and dynamics of membrane channels. This polymorphic peptide can adopt two different types of structures, the helical dimer β6.3 ('channel state') and the double helical structure with two intertwined monomers. The structure of gA in micelles of detergent Triton X-100 has been studied using CD, Fourier transform infrared, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results obtained demonstrate that only one thermodynamically stable gA structure, the antiparallel left-handed double helix β5.6, is formed in this membrane-mimetic environment. The position of the tryptophan fluorescence maximum at 332 nm is the same as that in phospholipid membranes. The causative factors governing the double helix formation in the micellar medium are discussed on the basis of known physicochemical properties of Triton X-100., (Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The membrane-active, cationic, β-hairpin peptide, arenicin, isolated from marine polychaeta Arenicola marina exhibits a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The peptide in aqueous solution adopts the significantly twisted β-hairpin conformation without pronounced amphipathicity. To assess the mechanism of arenicin action, the spatial structure and backbone dynamics of the peptide in membrane-mimicking media and its pore-forming activity in planar lipid bilayers were studied. The spatial structure of the asymmetric arenicin dimer stabilized by parallel association of N-terminal strands of two β-hairpins was determined using triple-resonance nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. Interaction of arenicin with micelles and its oligomerization significantly decreased the right-handed twist of the β-hairpin, increased its amphipathicity, and led to stabilization of the peptide backbone on a picosecond to nanosecond time scale. Relaxation enhancement induced by water-soluble (Mn(2+)) and lipid-soluble (16-doxylstearate) paramagnetic probes pointed to the dimer transmembrane arrangement. Qualitative NMR and circular dichroism study of arenicin-2 in mixed DPC/1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol bicelles, sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles, and lipid vesicles confirmed that a similar dimeric assembly of the peptide was retained in membrane-mimicking systems containing negatively charged lipids and detergents. Arenicin-induced conductance was dependent on the lipid composition of the membrane. Arenicin low-conductivity pores were detected in the phosphatidylethanolamine-containing lipid mixture, whereas the high-conductivity pores were observed in an exclusively anionic lipid system. The measured conductivity levels agreed with the model in which arenicin antimicrobial activity was mediated by the formation of toroidal pores assembled of two, three, or four β-structural peptide dimers and lipid molecules. The structural transitions involved in arenicin membrane-disruptive action are discussed.

Despite the promising application of liposomes in wool dyeing, little is known about the mechanism of liposome interactions with the wool fiber and dyestuffs. The kinetics of wool dyeing by two dyes, Acid Green 27 (hydrophobic) and Acid Green 25 (hydrophilic), were compared in three experimental protocols: (1) without liposomes, (2) in the presence of phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes, and (3) with wool previously treated with PC liposomes. Physicochemical interactions of liposomes with wool fibers were studied under experimental dyeing conditions with particular interest in the liposome affinity to the fiber surface and changes in the lipid composition of the wool fibers. The results obtained indicate that the presence of liposomes favors the retention of these two dyes in the dyeing bath, this effect being more pronounced in case of the hydrophobic dye. Furthermore, the liposome treatment is accompanied by substantial absorption of PC by wool fibers with simultaneous partial solubilization of their polar lipids (more evident at higher temperatures). This may result in structural modification of the cell membrane complex of wool fibers, which could account for a high level of the dye exhaustion observed at the end of the liposome dyeing process.