alpha-Defensins from Blood Leukocytes of the Monkey Papio hamadryas

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E. V. Tsvetkova^1,2, G. M. Aleshina¹, O. V. Shamova¹, L. E. Leonova², R. I. Lehrer³, and V. N. Kokryakov^1,2*

¹Institute of Experimental Medicine, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, ul. Akademika Pavlova 12, 197376 St. Petersburg, Russia; fax: (812) 234-9493; E-mail: kokryak@VK5270.spb.edu

²St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya 7/9, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia; fax: (812) 234-9493; E-mail: elena@VK5270.spb.edu

³UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA; fax: (310) 206-8766; E-mail: RLehrer@mednet.ucla.edu

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received March 3, 2006; Revision received April 6, 2006

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Three antimicrobial peptides named PHD1-3 (Papio hamadryas defensin) have been isolated from hamadryas baboon blood leukocytes using preparative electrophoresis and reverse-phase HPLC. The primary structures of these peptides have been determined by automated Edman degradation and mass-spectrometry. The results suggest that the peptides belong to the alpha-defensin family. Structural homology analysis reveals that among alpha-defensins from other animal species, PHD3 is the most closely related to RMAD5 (rhesus macaque alpha-defensin) (90% homology) from rhesus macaque leukocytes and also highly similar to human alpha-defensin HD5 (60% homology), which is produced by intestinal Paneth cells. The homology of PHD3 with human neutrophil alpha-defensin HNP1 (human natural peptide) was 30%. The primary structures of PHD1 and PHD2 are most similar to RED1 (rhesus enteral defensin), one of six enteral alpha-defensins of rhesus monkeys. PHD1-3 have been shown to be active against the Gram-positive bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, and the fungus Candida albicans, similarly to the human HNP1 defensin.

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KEY WORDS: antimicrobial peptides of mammals, primary structure, alpha-defensins, leukocytes, monkey, Papio hamadryas

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297906080098

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