Indolicidin, a novel bactericidal tridecapeptide amide from neutrophils.

作者：Michael E. Selsted, MJ Novotny, Wendy L. Morris, Yefeng Tang, W. N. Smith, James S. Cullor · 发表于：Journal of Biological Chemistry · 年份：1992 · DOI：10.1016/s0021-9258(18)42830-x · 被引用次数：556 · 研究领域：Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities、Biochemical and Structural Characterization、Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis

A potent and structurally novel antimicrobial peptide was purified from the cytoplasmic granules of bovine neutrophils. Suspensions of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were virtually sterilized by the peptide at a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml. The peptide was found to be comprised of 13 amino acids, 5 of which were tryptophan residues, and the carboxyl-terminal arginine was carboxamidated. The primary structure of the peptide, which we have named indolicidin, is H-Ile-Leu-Pro-Trp-Lys-Trp-Pro-Trp-Trp-Pro-Trp-Arg-Arg-NH2. The mole percent of tryptophan in indolicidin is the highest observed among known protein sequences. The multiple tryptophan residues presumably play an important role in the function of this unique antibiotic peptide.