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High pressure treatment promotes the deteriorating effect of cationic antimicrobial peptides on bacterial membranes
Simon Kriegler1, Michel W Jaworek1, Rosario Oliva2
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biophysical Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany. roland.winter@tu-dortmund.de.
Abstract:
The helical structure that cationic antimicrobial peptides (cAMPs) adopt upon interaction with membranes is key to their activity. We show that a high hydrostatic pressure not only increases the propensity of cAMPs to adopt a helical conformation in the presence of bacterial lipid bilayer membranes, but also in bulk solution, and the effect on bacterial membranes persists even up to 10 kbar. Therefore, high-pressure treatment could boost cAMP activity in high-pressure food processing to extend the shelf-life of food.
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