Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides Promote Microbial Mutagenesis and Pathoadaptation in Chronic Infections
Figure 5
LL-37 DNA binding promotes mucoid conversion.
A, homology modeling of LL-37 bound to B-DNA was performed manually on the basis of the backbone atomic coordinates of the homologous protein, sterol regulatory element binding protein, bound to DNA. In B, amino acid sequences of native LL-37 and synthetic derivatives are represented and the putative DNA binding region is indicated in yellow. Red: positive residues, blue: negative residues. In C, the percent of DNA bound by LL-37 derivatives was calculated from electrophoretic mobility shift assays (representative images in Figure S4), where densitometry was performed on each image using ImageJ. D represents the mucoid conversion frequency after treatment with LL-37 derivatives. Values are mean +/− SEM. Experiments were performed in triplicate on three independent occasions and statistical analysis was carried out using an unpaired two-tailed student's t-test (C) or Mann-Whitney test (D). (* p≤0.05).