Mechanisms of adrenomedullin antimicrobial action.

The mechanism of antimicrobial action of the multifunctional peptide adrenomedullin (AM) against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. AM (52 residues) and AM fragments (1-12, 1-21, 13-52, 16-21, 16-52, 22-52, 26-52 and 34-52 residues) were tested for activity. Carboxy-terminal fragments were shown to be up to 250-fold more active than the parent molecule.