Interaction of cationic antimicrobial peptides from Australian frogs with lipid membranes

Abstract

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from Australian frogs have been extensively studied as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Solid-state NMR is used to characterize their effect on lipid bilayers, which are the primary target, but correlation with in vivo situations is tentative in view of the complex effects of changes in sample conditions (such as pH, temperature, lipid composition or peptide concentration). We have used 31P and 2H solid-state NMR and a range of biophysical techniques to study the impact of the AMPs, maculatin 1.1, caerin 1.1, aurein 1.2, kalata B1, and Chex-Arg20, on membranes that mimic those of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria and red blood cell membranes. Overa..