Sigmoidal concentration dependence of antimicrobial peptide activities: A case study on alamethicin
Sigmoidal concentration dependence of antimicrobial peptide activities: A case study on alamethicin
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DOI:
10.1016/s0006-3495(02)75452-0
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发表时间:
2002-02-01
影响因子:
3.4
通讯作者:
Huang, HW
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Chen, FY;Lee, MT;Huang, HW
The transition of the state of alamethicin from its inactive state to its active state of pore formation was measured as a function of the peptide concentration in three different membrane conditions. In each case the fraction of the alamethicin molecules occupying the active state, phi, showed a sigmoidal concentration dependence that is typical of the activities of antimicrobial peptides. Such a concentration dependence is often interpreted as due to peptide aggregation. However, we will show that a simple effect of aggregation cannot explain the data. We will introduce a model based on the elasticity of membrane, taking into consideration the membrane-thinning effect due to protein inclusion. The elastic energy of membrane provides an additional driving force for aggregation. The model produces a relation that not only predicts the correct concentration dependence but also explains qualitatively how the dependence changes with membrane conditions. The result shows that the membrane-mediated interactions between monomers and aggregates are essential for the strong cooperativity shown in pore formation.