Role of acetylation and charge in antimicrobial peptides based on human beta-defensin-3.

Cationic antimicrobial peptides are an evolutionarily ancient and essential element of innate immunity in higher organisms. The precise mechanism by which these peptides exert their antimicrobial activity on bacteria is not well understood. Decapeptides based on the C-terminus of human beta-defensin-3 were designed and evaluated to study the role of charge in defining the antimicrobial activity and selectivity of these peptides against Escherichia coli.