Comparative study of the mechanism of action of the antimicrobial peptide gomesin and its linear analogue: The role of the β-hairpin structure

Gomesin (Gm) is an antimicrobial peptide first isolated from the hemolymph of a Brazilian spider. Its powerful antimicrobial activity is, however, accompanied by hemolysis. As an alternative to this issue, a linear analogue (named GmL) lacking the disulfide bonds was designed. Here, CD spectroscopy, a fluorescence-based leakage assay, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and light scattering are used to study the interaction of both Gm and GmL with large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) composed of POPC (palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidylcholine) with 25 and 50mol% POPG (palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidylglycerol). The activities of Gm and GmL in respect to their binding affinity/enthalpy, ability to permeabilize membranes and to induce vesicle aggregation are correlated with peptide secondary structure. Whereas Gm displays a quite stable β-hairpin motif irrespective of the environment, GmL assumes a random conformation in aqueous solution and in the presence of 25mol% POPG but adopts a β-like structure in the presence of 50mol% POPG. Gm exhibited high lytic activity against both surface charge densities. Instead, the activity of GmL was found to be negligible in the presence of 25mol% POPG LUVs, but comparable to that of the native peptide against 50mol% POPG as a consequence of peptide structuring. We conclude that the activity of Gm and its linear analogue is intimately related to the formation of a β-turn motif, in which the hydrophobic residues form a hydrophobic face able to insert into the membrane and disrupt it.