Aix-Marseille Team Finds Swapping Charged Residues Retunes the Lynronne Antimicrobial Peptides Toward E. coli or Gram-Positive Bacteria
Researchers at Aix-Marseille University and the French armed forces biomedical research institute (IRBA) made versions of the Lynronne antimicrobial peptides in which every positively charged residue was histidine, lysine, or arginine, reporting in the Journal of Peptide Science. All-histidine versions were inactive, all-lysine versions were most potent against Gram-negative bacteria, especially E. coli, and all-arginine versions were more active against Gram-positive bacteria and more stable in salt or serum but damaged more red blood cells. Lynronne-3 and its all-lysine variant were best at preventing and clearing biofilms; the work was in lab tests only.