Shantanu Guha, Ryan P Ferrie, Jenisha Ghimire, Cristina Ventura, Eric Wu, Leisheng Sun, Sarah Y Kim, Gregory R Wiedman, Kalina Hristova, Wimley C Wimley
Melittin, the main venom component of the European Honeybee, is a cationic linear peptide-amide of 26 amino acid residues with the sequence: GIGAVLKVLTTGLPALISWIKRKRQQ-NH2 . Melittin binds to lipid bilayer membranes, folds into amphipathic α-helical secondary structure and disrupts the permeability barrier. Since melittin was first described, a remarkable array of activities and potential applications in biology and medicine have been described. Melittin is also a favorite model system for biophysicists to study the structure, folding and function of peptides and proteins in membranes...
September 17, 2021: Biochemical Pharmacology