Mechanism
Introducing AMC-109 – an antimicrobial peptide from nature’s own defense system
Introducing AMC-109 – an antimicrobial peptide from nature’s own defense system
The mechanism of action for AMC-109 lysis of bacterial membranes.
The antimicrobial mode of action of AMC-109 represents a highly beneficial strategy for killing bacteria and potentially other microorganisms. The diagram below demonstrates the mechanism of action for AMC-109 lysis of bacterial membranes. The mechanism of action can be represented by the Shai-Matsuzaki-Huang mode of action of an antimicrobial peptide.
An alpha-helical peptide is depicted. a, Carpeting of the outer leaflet with peptides. b, Integration of the peptide into the membrane and thinning of the outer leaflet. The surface area of the outer leaflet expands relative to the inner leaflet, resulting in strain within the bilayer (jagged arrows). c, Phase transition and 'wormhole' formation.
Transient pores form at this stage. d, Transport of lipids and peptides into the inner leaflet. e, Diffusion of peptides onto intracellular targets (in some cases). f, Collapse of the membrane into fragments and physical disruption of the target cell's membrane. Lipids with yellow headgroups are acidic, or negatively charged. Lipids with black headgroups have no net charge.
From the following article:
Antimicrobial peptides of multicellular organisms
Michael Zasloff
Nature 415, 389-395(24 January 2002)
doi:10.1038/415389a
