Envelope-deforming antiviral peptide derived from influenza virus M2 protein

Molecules interfering with lipid bilayer function exhibit strong antiviral activity against a broad range of enveloped viruses, with a lower risk of resistance development than that for viral protein-targeting drugs. Amphipathic peptides are rich sources of such membrane-interacting antivirals. Here, we report that influenza viruses were effectively inactivated by M2 AH, an amphipathic peptide derived from the M2 protein of the influenza virus. Although overall hydrophobicity () of M2 AH was not related to antiviral activity, modification of the hydrophobic moment (<μH>) of M2 AH dramatically altered the antiviral activity of this peptide. M2 MH, a derivative of M2 AH with a <μH> of 0.874, showed a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 53.3 nM against the A/PR/8/34 strain (H1N1), which is 16-times lower than that of M2 AH. The selectivity index (IC₅₀/CC₅₀), where CC₅₀ is the half maximal cytotoxic concentration, was 360 for M2 MH and 81 for M2 AH. Dynamic light scattering spectroscopy and electron microscopy revealed that M2 AH-derived peptides did not disrupt liposomes but altered the shape of viruses. This result suggests that the shape of virus envelope was closely related to its activity. Thus, we propose that deforming without rupturing the membranes may achieve a high selectivity index for peptide antivirals.