Gallinacins: cysteine‐rich antimicrobial peptides of chicken leukocytes

FEBS Letters

Lee, Terry D.²  Aleshina, Galina M.³  Kokryakov, Vladimir N.¹  Harwig, Sylvia S.L.¹  Shamova, Olga V.³  Panyutich, Elena A.¹  Tan, Leonie¹  Lehrer, Robert I.¹  Swiderek, Kristine M.² 

[1] Department of Medicine, UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, 10833 LeConte Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90024, USA;Division of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte CA 91010, USA;Department of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Institute for Experimental Medicine, 19736 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

关键词: Antimicrobial peptide;    β-Defensin;    Chicken leukocyte;    LC-ESI mass spectrometry;   

DOI  :  10.1016/0014-5793(94)80517-2

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

We purified three homologous antimicrobial peptides (‘gallinacins’) from chicken leukocytes, examined their antimicrobial activity in vitro, and established their primary sequences by a combination of gas phase microsequencing and on-line LC-ESI-MS analysis of endo- and exoprotease peptide digests. The peptides contained 36–39 amino acid residues, were relatively cationic due to their numerous lysine and arginine residues, and each contained 3 intramolecular cystine disulfide bonds. Gallinacins showed primary sequence homology to the recently delineated β-defensin family, heretofore found only in the respiratory epithelial cells and neutrophils of cattle, suggesting that β-defensins originated at least 250 million years ago, before avian and mammalian lineages diverged. The 9 invariant residues (6 cysteines, 2 glycines and 1 proline) common to avian gallinacins and bovine β-defensins are likely to constitute the essential primary structural motif of this ancient family of host-defense peptides.

【 授权许可】

Unknown