TY - JOUR
T1 - Eurocin, a New Fungal Defensin
T2 - Structure, lipid binding and its mode of action
AU - Øemig, Jesper Skøttegaard
AU - Lynggaard, Carina
AU - Knudsen, Daniel Højberg
AU - Hansen, Frederik Teilfeldt
AU - Nørgaard, Kent Dahm
AU - Schneider, Tanja
AU - Vad, Brian Stougaard
AU - Sandvang, Dorthe
AU - Nielsen, Line A.
AU - Neve, Søren
AU - Kristensen, Hans-Henrik
AU - Sahl, Hans-Georg
AU - Otzen, Daniel
AU - Wimmer, Reinhard
PY - 2012/12/7
Y1 - 2012/12/7
N2 - Antimicrobial peptides are a new class of antibiotics that are promising for pharmaceutical applications because they have retained efficacy throughout evolution. One class of antimicrobial peptides are the defensins, which have been found in different species. Here we describe a new fungal defensin, eurocin. Eurocin acts against a range of Gram-positive human pathogens but not against Gram-negative bacteria. Eurocin consists of 42 amino acids, forming a cysteine-stabilized α/β-fold. The thermal denaturation data point shows the disulfide bridges being responsible for the stability of the fold. Eurocin does not form pores in cell membranes at physiologically relevant concentrations; it does, however, lead to limited leakage of a fluorophore from small unilamellar vesicles. Eurocin interacts with detergent micelles, and it inhibits the synthesis of cell walls by binding equimolarly to the cell wall precursor lipid II.
AB - Antimicrobial peptides are a new class of antibiotics that are promising for pharmaceutical applications because they have retained efficacy throughout evolution. One class of antimicrobial peptides are the defensins, which have been found in different species. Here we describe a new fungal defensin, eurocin. Eurocin acts against a range of Gram-positive human pathogens but not against Gram-negative bacteria. Eurocin consists of 42 amino acids, forming a cysteine-stabilized α/β-fold. The thermal denaturation data point shows the disulfide bridges being responsible for the stability of the fold. Eurocin does not form pores in cell membranes at physiologically relevant concentrations; it does, however, lead to limited leakage of a fluorophore from small unilamellar vesicles. Eurocin interacts with detergent micelles, and it inhibits the synthesis of cell walls by binding equimolarly to the cell wall precursor lipid II.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871338911&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M112.382028
DO - 10.1074/jbc.M112.382028
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 23093408
SN - 0021-9258
VL - 287
SP - 42361
EP - 42372
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
IS - 50
ER -