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. 1989 Sep;86(17):6597-601.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.17.6597.

Magainins and the disruption of membrane-linked free-energy transduction

H V Westerhoff  1 , D Juretić, R W Hendler, M Zasloff
Affiliations

Magainins and the disruption of membrane-linked free-energy transduction

H V Westerhoff et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Sep.

Abstract

Magainins, a family of positively charged peptides, are partly if not wholly responsible for antimicrobial activity in skin extracts of Xenopus laevis. We report here that members of the magainin family--i.e., the 21-amino acid peptide PGLa and the 23-amino acid peptide magainin 2 amide (PGSa)--dissipate the electric potential across various energy-transducing membranes and thus uncouple respiration from other free-energy-requiring processes. We propose that this is a likely mechanism for the antimicrobial effects of these compounds.

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