Papiliocin

SignificanceSimilar to mammalian TLR4/MD-2, the Toll9/MD-2-like protein complex in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, acts as an innate pattern-recognition receptor that recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and induces LPS-stimulated expression of antimicrobial peptides such as cecropins. Here, we report that papiliocin, a cecropin-like insect antimicrobial peptide from the swallowtail butterfly, competitively inhibits the LPS-TLR4/MD-2 interaction by directly binding to human TLR4/MD-2. Structural elements in papiliocin, which are important in inhibiting TLR4 signaling via direct binding, are highly conserved among insect cecropins, indicating that its TLR4-antagonistic activity may be related to insect Toll9-mediated immune response against microbial infection. This study highlights the potential of papiliocin as a potent TLR4 antagonist and safe peptide antibiotic for treating gram-negative sepsis.

A cecropin-like peptide, papiliocin, isolated from the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus, possesses high selectivity against gram-negative bacteria. Since Trp(2) and Phe(5) are highly conserved residues in cecropin-like peptides, we investigated the role of Trp(2) and Phe(5) in antibacterial activity. Substitution of Trp(2) and Phe(5) in papiliocin with Ala (papiliocin-2A and papiliocin-5A) revealed that Trp(2) is a key residue in its antibacterial activities. In order to understand the structural requirements for papiliocin function and to design shorter, but more potent, peptide antibiotics, we designed papiliocin constructs, PapN (residues Arg(1)-Ala(22) from the N-terminal amphipathic helix). PapN exhibited significant broad-spectrum antibacterial activities without cytotoxicity. Bactericidal kinetics of peptides against E.coli showed that papiliocin completely and rapidly killed E.coli in less than 10 minutes at 2× MIC concentration, while papiliocin-2A and papiliocin-5A killed four times more slowly than papiliocin. The PapN series peptides permeabilized bacterial membranes less effectively than papiliocin, showing no antibacterial activities in an hour. The results imply that the Trp(2) and Phe(5) in the amphipathic N-terminal helix are important in the rapid permeabilization of the gram-negative bacterial membrane. The hydrophobic C-terminal residues permeabilize the hydrophobic bacterial cell membrane synergistically with these aromatic residues, providing selectivity against gram-negative bacteria.

Papiliocin, isolated from the swallowtail butterfly (Papilio xuthus), is an antimicrobial peptide with high selectivity against gram-negative bacteria. We previously showed that the N-terminal helix of papiliocin (PapN) plays a key role in the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of papiliocin. In this study, we measured the selectivity of PapN against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, as well as its anti-inflammatory activity. Interactions between Trp2 of PapN and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a major component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, were studied using the Trp fluorescence blue shift and quenching in LPS micelles. Furthermore, using circular dichroism, we investigated the interactions between PapN and LPS, showing that LPS plays critical roles in peptide folding. Our results demonstrated that Trp2 in PapN was buried deep in the negatively charged LPS, and Trp2 induced the α-helical structure of PapN. Importantly, docking studies determined that predominant electrostatic interactions of positively charged arginine residues in PapN with phosphate head groups of LPS were key factors for binding. Similarly, hydrophobic interactions by aromatic residues of PapN with fatty acid chains in LPS were also significant for binding. These results may facilitate the development of peptide antibiotics with anti-inflammatory activity.