Browsing by Author "Marani, Mariela Mirta"
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- Characterization and Biological Activities of Ocellatin Peptides from the Skin Secretion of the Frog Leptodactylus pustulatusPublication . Marani, Mariela Mirta; Dourado, Flávio Santos; Quelemes, Patrick Veras; Araujo, Alyne Rodrigues de; Perfeito, Márcia Luana Gomes; Barbosa, Eder Alves; Véras, Leiz Maria Costa; Coelho, Andreia Luísa Rodrigues; Andrade, Etielle Barroso; Eaton, Peter; Longo, João Paulo Figueiró; Azevedo, Ricardo Bentes; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Leite, José Roberto S. A.Eight new peptides were isolated from the skin secretion of the frog Leptodactylus pustulatus and their amino acid sequences determined by de novo sequencing and by cDNA cloning. Structural similarities between them and other antimicrobial peptides from the skin secretion of Leptodactylus genus frogs were found. Ocellatins-PT1 to -PT5 (25 amino acid residues) are amidated at the C-terminus, while ocellatins-PT6 to -PT8 (32 amino acid residues) have free carboxylates. Antimicrobial activity, hemolytic tests, and cytotoxicity against a murine fibroblast cell line were investigated. All peptides, except for ocellatin-PT2, have antimicrobial activity against at least one Gram negative strain. Ocellatin-PT8 inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella choleraesuis strains with MICs in the 60−240 μM range. No significant effect was observed in human erythrocytes and in a murine fibroblast cell line after exposure to the peptides at MICs. A comparison between sequences obtained by both direct HPLC-MS de novo sequencing and cDNA cloning demonstrates the secretion of mature peptides derived from a pre-pro-peptide structure.
- Ocellatin-PT antimicrobial peptides: High-resolution microscopy studies in antileishmania models and interactions with mimetic membrane systemsPublication . Oliveira, Mayara; Gomes-Alves, Ana Georgina; Sousa, Carla; Marani, Mariela Mirta; Plácido, Alexandra; Vale, Nuno; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Gameiro, Paula; Kuckelhaus, Selma A. S.; Tomás, Ana M.; Leite, José Roberto S. A.; Eaton, PeterAlthough the mechanism of action of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is not clear, they can interact electrostatically with the cell membranes of microorganisms. New ocellatin-PT peptides were recently isolated from the skin secretion of Leptodactylus pustulatus. The secondary structure of these AMPs and their effect on Leishmania infantum cells, and on different lipid surface models was characterized in this work. The results showed that all ocellatin-PT peptides have an a-helix structure and five of them (PT3, PT4, PT6 to PT8) have leishmanicidal activity; PT1 and PT2 affected the cellular morphology of the parasites and showed greater affinity for leishmania and bacteria-mimicking lipid membranes than for those of mammals. The results show selectivity of ocellatin-PTs to the membranes of microorganisms and the applicability of biophysical methods to clarify the interaction of AMPs with cell membranes.