Publikationsdatum:
1989-09-01
Beschreibung:
Magainins, a family of positively charged peptides, are partly if not wholly responsible for antimicrobial activity in skin extracts of Xenopus laevis. We report here that members of the magainin family--i.e., the 21-amino acid peptide PGLa and the 23-amino acid peptide magainin 2 amide (PGSa)--dissipate the electric potential across various energy-transducing membranes and thus uncouple respiration from other free-energy-requiring processes. We propose that this is a likely mechanism for the antimicrobial effects of these compounds.
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Digitale ISSN:
1091-6490
Thema:
Biologie
,
Medizin
,
Allgemeine Naturwissenschaft
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