Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Interaction of a Histidine-Rich Antimicrobial Saliva Peptide with Model Cell Membranes : The Role of Histidines

Eriksson Skog, Amanda LU ; Corucci, Giacomo ; Tully, Mark D ; Fragneto, Giovanna ; Gerelli, Yuri and Skepö, Marie LU (2023) In Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids 39(22). p.7694-7706
Abstract

Histatin 5 is a histidine-rich, intrinsically disordered, multifunctional saliva protein known to act as a first line of defense against oral candidiasis caused by Candida albicans. An earlier study showed that, upon interaction with a common model bilayer, a protein cushion spontaneously forms underneath the bilayer. Our hypothesis is that this effect is of electrostatic origin and that the observed behavior is due to proton charge fluctuations of the histidines, promoting attractive electrostatic interactions between the positively charged proteins and the anionic surfaces, with concomitant counterion release. Here we are investigating the role of the histidines in more detail by defining a library of variants of the peptide, where... (More)

Histatin 5 is a histidine-rich, intrinsically disordered, multifunctional saliva protein known to act as a first line of defense against oral candidiasis caused by Candida albicans. An earlier study showed that, upon interaction with a common model bilayer, a protein cushion spontaneously forms underneath the bilayer. Our hypothesis is that this effect is of electrostatic origin and that the observed behavior is due to proton charge fluctuations of the histidines, promoting attractive electrostatic interactions between the positively charged proteins and the anionic surfaces, with concomitant counterion release. Here we are investigating the role of the histidines in more detail by defining a library of variants of the peptide, where the former have been replaced by the pH-insensitive amino acid glutamine. By using experimental techniques such as circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and neutron reflectometry, it was determined that changing the number of histidines in the peptide sequence did not affect the structure of the peptide dissolved in solution. However, it was shown to affect the penetration depth of the peptide into the bilayer, where all variants except the one with zero histidines were found below the bilayer. A decrease in the number of histidine from the original seven to zero decreases the ability of the peptide to penetrate the bilayer, and the peptide is then also found residing within the bilayer. We hypothesize that this is due to the ability of the histidines to charge titrate, which charges up the peptide, and enables it to penetrate and translocate through the lipid bilayer.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Histidine, Antimicrobial Peptides, Saliva/metabolism, Lipid Bilayers/chemistry, Peptides, Cell Membrane/metabolism, Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology
in
Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
volume
39
issue
22
pages
13 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85162243928
  • pmid:37227075
ISSN
0743-7463
DOI
10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00498
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dbb7e7e5-717a-4600-b0ab-26f2b0698e5c
date added to LUP
2023-06-26 15:26:13
date last changed
2024-04-19 23:06:34
@article{dbb7e7e5-717a-4600-b0ab-26f2b0698e5c,
  abstract     = {{<p>Histatin 5 is a histidine-rich, intrinsically disordered, multifunctional saliva protein known to act as a first line of defense against oral candidiasis caused by Candida albicans. An earlier study showed that, upon interaction with a common model bilayer, a protein cushion spontaneously forms underneath the bilayer. Our hypothesis is that this effect is of electrostatic origin and that the observed behavior is due to proton charge fluctuations of the histidines, promoting attractive electrostatic interactions between the positively charged proteins and the anionic surfaces, with concomitant counterion release. Here we are investigating the role of the histidines in more detail by defining a library of variants of the peptide, where the former have been replaced by the pH-insensitive amino acid glutamine. By using experimental techniques such as circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and neutron reflectometry, it was determined that changing the number of histidines in the peptide sequence did not affect the structure of the peptide dissolved in solution. However, it was shown to affect the penetration depth of the peptide into the bilayer, where all variants except the one with zero histidines were found below the bilayer. A decrease in the number of histidine from the original seven to zero decreases the ability of the peptide to penetrate the bilayer, and the peptide is then also found residing within the bilayer. We hypothesize that this is due to the ability of the histidines to charge titrate, which charges up the peptide, and enables it to penetrate and translocate through the lipid bilayer.</p>}},
  author       = {{Eriksson Skog, Amanda and Corucci, Giacomo and Tully, Mark D and Fragneto, Giovanna and Gerelli, Yuri and Skepö, Marie}},
  issn         = {{0743-7463}},
  keywords     = {{Histidine; Antimicrobial Peptides; Saliva/metabolism; Lipid Bilayers/chemistry; Peptides; Cell Membrane/metabolism; Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{22}},
  pages        = {{7694--7706}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids}},
  title        = {{Interaction of a Histidine-Rich Antimicrobial Saliva Peptide with Model Cell Membranes : The Role of Histidines}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00498}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00498}},
  volume       = {{39}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}