Abstract
The antimicrobial peptide LR(GG) (LLRLLRRGGRRLLRLL-NH2) was designed and chemically synthesized in a study conducted by Jia et al. Gram-negative bacteria were found to be sensitive to LR(GG) and exhibited a high therapeutic index. Genetic engineering methods were used to create the prokaryotic fusion expression vector pQE-GFP-LR(GG), and the resulting corresponding fusion protein GFP-LR(GG) was subsequently expressed and purified. The precursor GFP was then removed by TEV proteolysis, and pure LR(GG) was obtained after another round of purification and endotoxin removal. The prokaryotic-expressed antimicrobial peptide LR(GG) displays a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect on Gram-negative bacteria, and its minimum inhibitory activity (MIC) against Escherichia coli can reach 2 μg/mL. Compared to the chemically synthesized LR(GG,) the prokaryotic-expressed LR(GG) exhibits similar temperature, pH, salt ion, serum stability, and cell selectivity. Furthermore, prokaryotic-expressed LR(GG) showed excellent therapeutic effects in both the infection model of cell selectivity and no embryotoxicity in a Galleria mellonella infection model. The mechanism by which LR(GG) causes bacterial death was found to be the disruption of the Gram-negative cell membrane.