BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial property of peptide LL-37 sequences.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Humanized antibacterial peptide LL-37 and the mutant were prepared by chemical synthesis. The physicochemical properties of antibacterial peptide LL-37 were analyzed by SWISS-MODEL online prediction tool. Molecular docking between antibacterial peptide LL-37 fragments and palmitoyl transferase PagP was made with Lamarckian genetic algorithm by AutoDock1.5.6.

RESULTS: The systems contacted each other at 8.75 picosec. After 20 picsec, the system had no trend of dissociation, and the bond energy of weak bond -C-O-H…NH2-CH2- was calculated. The hydrophobic groups were important factors that led to contact and merged the two parts. The contacted weak bond -C-O-H…NH2-CH2- was the bridge for contacting LL-37 with palmitoyl transferase PagP. The binding sites of antibacterial peptide LL-37 and palmitoyl transferase PagP mainly included LYS8, GLU11, LEU28, LYS12, PHE27, ILE13, and PHE6 of antibacterial peptide LL-37 and ARG94, TRP89, ASN65, SER3, GLU90, GLU90, ASN100, HIS102, and THR92 of palmitoyl transferase PagP.

CONCLUSIONS: Antibacterial peptide LL-37 had stronger antibacterial effect via inhibition of activity of PagP.

Keywords: Acyl-Carrier Protein S-Acetyltransferase, Ambulatory Care Facilities, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Computer-Aided Design