Antimicrobial Synergy of a Ribonuclease and a Peptide Secreted by Human Cells

© LL-37 is a secretory peptide that has antimicrobial activity. Ribonuclease 1 (RNase 1) is a secretory enzyme that is not cytotoxic. We find that human LL-37 and human RNase 1 can act synergistically to kill Gram-negative bacterial cells. In the presence of nontoxic concentrations of LL-37, RNase...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Eller, Chelcie H, Raines, Ronald T
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Chemical Society (ACS) 2022
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/141233
Description
Summary:© LL-37 is a secretory peptide that has antimicrobial activity. Ribonuclease 1 (RNase 1) is a secretory enzyme that is not cytotoxic. We find that human LL-37 and human RNase 1 can act synergistically to kill Gram-negative bacterial cells. In the presence of nontoxic concentrations of LL-37, RNase 1 is toxic to Escherichia coli cells at picomolar levels. Using wild-type RNase 1 and an inactive variant labeled with a fluorophore, we observe the adherence of RNase 1 to E. coli cells and its cellular entry in the presence of LL-37. These data suggest a natural means of modulating the human microbiome via the cooperation of an endogenous peptide (37 residues) and small enzyme (128 residues).