PMID: 28799716

Authors:

Pillong M, Hiss JA, Schneider P, Lin YC, Posselt G, Pfeiffer B, Blatter M, Muller AT, Bachler S, Neuhaus CS, Dittrich PS, Altmann KH, Wessler S, Schneider G

Title:

Rational Design of Membrane-Pore-Forming Peptides.

Journal:

Small. 2017 Aug 11. doi: 10.1002/smll.201701316.

Abstract:

Specific interactions of peptides with lipid membranes are essential for cellular communication and constitute a central aspect of the innate host defense against pathogens. A computational method for generating innovative membrane-pore-forming peptides inspired by natural templates is presented. Peptide representation in terms of sequence- and topology-dependent hydrophobic moments is introduced. This design concept proves to be appropriate for the de novo generation of first-in-class membrane-active peptides with the anticipated mode of action. The designed peptides outperform the natural template in terms of their antibacterial activity. They form a kinked helical structure and self-assemble in the membrane by an entropy-driven mechanism to form dynamically growing pores that are dependent on the lipid composition. The results of this study demonstrate the unique potential of natural template-based peptide design for chemical biology and medicinal chemistry.