Salusin-β, an antimicrobially active peptide against Gram-positive bacteria.

Salusin-β has been detected in numerous mammalian tissues and has been shown to have various effects on the cardiovascular system. In this study, we showed that salusin-β exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive microorganisms such as Bacillus subtilis NBRC 3513, Bacillus megaterium ATCC 19213, Staphylococcus aureus NBRC 12732, and Staphylococcus epidermidis NBRC 12933. A cytoplasmic membrane-depolarizing assay using the DiSC3(5) dye revealed that the addition of 4 nmol/mL of salusin-β caused the leakage of fluorescence dye from Staphylococcus aureus NBRC 12732. The antimicrobial potency and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy of five analogs related to salusin-β were examined to determine structure-function relationships in its N- and C-terminal regions. The results obtained suggest that the N-terminal sequences of the salusin-β molecule are important for the expression of the potent antimicrobial activity of this peptide. A profile corresponding to that of the α-helix conformation was observed in the salusin-β solution.