Micasin

Fungi are a newly emerging source of peptide antibiotics with therapeutic potential. Here, we report 17 new fungal defensin-like peptide (fDLP) genes and the detailed characterization of a corresponding synthetic fDLP (micasin) from a dermatophyte in terms of its structure, activity and therapeutic potential. NMR analysis showed that synthetic micasin adopts a "hallmark" cysteine-stabilized α-helical and β-sheet fold. It was active on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and importantly it killed two clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa at low micromolar concentrations. Micasin killed approximately 100% of treated bacteria within 3 h through a membrane nondisruptive mechanism of action, and showed extremely low hemolysis and high serum stability. Consistent with these functional properties, micasin increases survival in mice infected by the pathogenic bacteria in a peritonitis model. Our work represents a valuable approach to explore novel peptide antibiotics from a large resource of fungal genomes.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) elicited by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is calling for novel targeted drugs. Since the viral entry into host cells depends on specific interactions between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the viral Spike protein and the membrane-bound monocarboxypeptidase angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the development of high affinity RBD binders to compete with human ACE2 represents a promising strategy for the design of therapeutics to prevent viral entry. Here, we report the discovery of such a binder and its improvement via a combination of computational and experimental approaches. The binder micasin, a known fungal defensin from the dermatophytic fungus Microsporum canis with antibacterial activity, can dock to the crevice formed by the receptor-binding motif (RBM) of RBD via an extensive shape complementarity interface (855.9 Å2 in area) with numerous hydrophobic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Using microscale thermophoresis (MST) technique, we confirmed that micasin and its C-terminal γ-core derivative with multiple predicted interacting residues exhibited a low micromolar affinity to RBD. Expanding the interface area of micasin through a single point mutation to 970.5 Å2 accompanying an enhanced hydrogen bond network significantly improved its binding affinity by six-fold. Our work highlights the naturally occurring fungal defensins as an emerging resource that may be suitable for the development into antiviral agents for COVID-19.

The emergence and rapid spread of multiresistant bacteria has lead to an urgent need for novel antimicrobials. Based on single-point substitutions, we generated a series of mutants of micasin, a dermatophytic defensin, with enhanced activities against multiple clinical isolates of Staphylococcus species, including 4 antibiotic-resistant strains. We first mapped the functional surface of micasin by alanine-scanning mutational analysis of its highly exposed residues, through which we found that substitution of site 8 (acidic Glu) dramatically enhanced bacterial killing of this peptide. Structural analysis indicates that this single point mutation could result in a functional local amphipathic architecture. Four different types of side chains (hydrophobic, cationic polar, neutral polar, and acidic polar) were introduced at site 8 to clarify the role of this local architecture in micasin function. The results show that all mutants displayed increased antibacterial activity with the exception of the acidic replacement. These mutants with enhanced activity exhibited low hemolysis and cytotoxicity and showed high serum stability, indicating their therapeutic potential. Our work represents the first example of structural fine-tuning to largely improve the antibacterial potency of a dermatophytic defensin.-Wu, J., Gao, B., Zhu, S. Single-point mutation-mediated local amphipathic adjustment dramatically enhances antibacterial activity of a fungal defensin.