Structure analysis of the membrane-bound dermcidin-derived peptide SSL-25 from human sweat

SSL-25 (SSLLEKGLDGAKKAVGGLGKLGKDA) is one of the shortest peptides present in human sweat and is produced after the proteolytic processing of the parent peptide dermcidin. Both peptides are reported to have antimicrobial function. To determine the structure of SSL-25 in lipid bilayers, a series of ¹⁹F-labeled SSL-25 analogs were synthesized. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed that SSL-25 and all of its analogs formed α-helices in the presence of lipid vesicles, thus allowing a detailed analysis via oriented CD and solid-state NMR. The results suggest that SSL-25 resides on the membrane surface with a slight helix tilt angle. A detailed ¹⁹F NMR analysis revealed that SSL-25 does not form a continuous helix. The α-helical structure of the N-terminal part of the peptide was preserved in membranes of different lipid compositions and at various peptide-to-lipid molar ratios, but the C-terminus was disordered and did not fold into a well-defined α-helical conformation. Furthermore, the NMR results showed that SSL-25 resides on the membrane surface and does not re-orient into the membrane in response to changes in either peptide concentration or membrane composition. SSL-25 does not aggregate and remains fully mobile within the membrane bilayer, as shown by ¹⁹F NMR. SSL-25 has a high binding affinity toward bilayers mimicking bacterial lipid compositions, but does not bind to mammalian model membranes containing cholesterol. These observations may explain the selectivity of this peptide for bacterial membranes, and they are also in line with basic biophysical considerations on spontaneous lipid curvature and the general effect of cholesterol on peptide/lipid interactions.