Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-6-3
pubmed:abstractText
Histatin 5 (Hst5) is a human salivary antimicrobial peptide that targets fungal mitochondria. In the human parasitic protozoa Leishmania, the mitochondrial ATP production is essential, as it lacks the bioenergetic switch between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation described in some yeasts. On these premises, Hst5 activity was assayed on both stages of its life cycle, promastigotes and amastigotes (LC(50)=7.3 and 14.4 microM, respectively). In a further step, its lethal mechanism was studied. The main conclusions drawn were as follows: 1) Hst5 causes limited and temporary damage to the plasma membrane of the parasites, as assessed by electron microscopy, depolarization, and entrance of the vital dye SYTOX Green; 2) Hst5 translocates into the cytoplasm of Leishmania in an achiral receptor-independent manner with accumulation into the mitochondrion, as shown by confocal microscopy; and 3) Hst5 produces a bioenergetic collapse of the parasite, caused essentially by the decrease of mitochondrial ATP synthesis through inhibition of F(1)F(0)-ATPase, with subsequent fast ATP exhaustion. By using the Hst5 enantiomer, it was found that the key steps of its lethal mechanism involved no chiral recognition. Hst5 thus constitutes the first leishmanicidal peptide with a defined nonstereospecific intracellular target. The prospects of its development, by its own or as a carrier molecule for other leishmanicidal molecules, into a novel anti-Leishmania drug with a preferential subcellular accumulation are discussed.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1530-6860
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
22
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1817-28
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Human antimicrobial peptide histatin 5 is a cell-penetrating peptide targeting mitochondrial ATP synthesis in Leishmania.
pubmed:affiliation
Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040-Madrid, Spain.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't