Analogues of temporin-SHa and uses thereof
The present invention relates to novel antimicrobial peptides, pharmaceutical compositions comprising said peptides, and the uses thereof, in particular as antimicrobial drugs, disinfectants, pesticides or preservatives. The present invention also relates to a transgenic plant expressing said novel peptides.
1. A peptide of a size comprised between 13 and 100 amino acids exhibiting an antimicrobial activity, said antimicrobial activity being an antibacterial activity, an antifungal activity against a fungus from the genus Candida , and/or an antiparasitic activity against a parasite from the genus Leishmania , and comprising the sequence F-L-X 1 -G-I-X 2 -G-X 3 -L-G-K-L-X 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2), wherein:
X 1 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of R, H and K,
X 2 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of V, R, H and K,
X 3 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of M, R, H and K, and
X 4 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of F, I, L and W,
with the proviso that when X 2 is V, then X 3 is selected from the group consisting of K, R and H and/or X 4 is selected from the group consisting of L, I and W,
and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts of said peptide.
2. The peptide according to claim 1 , wherein X 1 represents K, X 2 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of V and K, X 3 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of M and K, and X 4 is an amino acid selected from the group consisting of F, L and W.
3. The peptide according to claim 1 , wherein the peptide comprises a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3 to 17.
4. A nucleic acid encoding a peptide according to claim 1 .
5. An expression cassette comprising a nucleic acid according to claim 4 .
6. An expression vector comprising a nucleic acid according to claim 4 .
7. A host cell comprising a nucleic acid according to claim 4 .
8. A pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one peptide according to claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable support and/or excipient.
9. A method of treating a microbial infection comprising administering a peptide according to claim 1 to a subject having a microbial infection, wherein the microbial infection is a bacterial infection, a fungal infection by a fungus from the genus Candida , or a parasitic infection by a parasite from the genus Leishmania.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said microbial infection is an infection caused by a bacterium.
11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said microbial infection is an infection caused by a parasite from the genus Leishmania.
12. A medical device or implant comprising a body having at least one surface coated with or including a peptide according to claim 1 .
13. A transgenic plant comprising a nucleic acid according to claim 4 .
14. The peptide of claim 1 , wherein the peptide comprises a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
15. The peptide of claim 1 , wherein the peptide consists of a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the microbial infection is a fungal infection by a fungus from the genus Candida.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the fungus is Candida albicans or Candida parapsilosis.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the parasite is Leishmania infantum.
19. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bacterium is a Gram negative bacterium.
20. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bacterium is a Gram positive bacterium.
21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the Gram negative bacterium is selected from the group consisting of Escherichia coli and bacteria from the genera Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Acinetobacter and Klebsiella.
22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the Gram positive bacterium is selected from the group consisting of bacteria from the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Listeria and Enterococcus.