Title: Amphiphilic α-Helical Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Structure / Function Relationships
VOLUME: 12 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Sarah R. Dennison, James Wallace, Frederick Harris and David A. Phoenix
Affiliation:Deans Office, Faculty of Science, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK.
Keywords:antimicrobial peptides, amphiphilicity, microbial membranes
Abstract: To facilitate microbial membrane invasion, amphiphilic α-helical antimicrobial peptides (α-AMPs) show a spatial segregation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues about the α-helical long axis. Here we discuss potential mechanisms by which these peptides are able to disrupt membrane structure and the structural characteristics, which are required for function.
