Temporin/VesCP (T/V)-like antibiotic peptides, derived from frogs and wasps, induce migration of human monocytes and neutrophils

Abstract

Several naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides, from mammals and insects, have previously been shown to be chemotactic for human inflammatory cells. Based on this evidence, ten synthetic analogs of naturally occurring antibiotic peptides from the skin secretions of three species of Ranid frogs and the venom of one species of Vespid wasp (i.e., T/V-like peptides) were tested for their abilities to induce migration of human neutrophils and monocytes. These included temporin A (TA from Rana temporaria), temporin 1P (T1P from R. pipens), ranateurin 6 (Rana-6 from R. catesbeiana)], three TA analogs [all D-amino acids (D-TA), reversed sequence (Rev-TA), and Pro3 → >Gly (G3-TA)],two frog skin-related T/V-like peptide consensus sequences (I4S10-Con and I4G10-Con), VesCP-M (VCP-M from Vespa mandarinia), and a hybrid peptide composed of portions of the insect antibiotic peptide, cecropin A (CA), and TA (CATA). TA, T1P, Rana-6, VCP-M, G3-TA, I4S10-Con, I4G10-Con, and CATA all induced cell migration at micromolar concentrations. D-TA and Rev-TA did not induce cell migration, suggesting that thisprocess involves a chiral interaction, such as receptor binding, andalso depends on the order of amino acids within TA. The results demonstrate, for the first time, that certain T/V-like antibiotic peptides are capable of inducing chemotaxis of human phagocytes and suggest that these peptides are multifunctional molecules with antimicrobial, hemolytic, and chemotactic capabilities.