Engraulisin: A novel marine derived cell penetrating peptide with activity against drug resistant bacteria

Cell penetrating peptides (CPP) with their intrinsic ability to penetrate plasma membranes facilitate intracellular uptake of various macromolecules. Although a substantial number of CPPs have been reported over the last three decades, the number is still inadequate when compared to the theoretically feasible peptides with similar physicochemical composition.

Marine organisms, due to their hostile environment, are an immense source of several high-valued therapeutically relevant peptides. Various marine derived antibacterial, antimycotic and anticancer peptides have demonstrated improved activity in comparison to peptides of terrestrial origin. While a significant number of marine bioactive peptides exist, cell penetrating peptides from marine organisms remain unravelled.

In this study, we report Engraulisin from Engraulis japonicus, a computationally derived novel cell penetrating peptide of marine origin. Engraulisin manifest successful uptake in mammalian cells at 5 μM concentration with negligible cytotoxicity observed through MTT assay. Analysis of its cellular uptake mechanism revealed significant inhibition at 4 °C suggesting endocytosis as the major route of cellular entry. Interestingly, the novel peptide also demonstrated selective antimicrobial activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Additionally, molecular dynamics simulation with POPC and POPG bilayer system unveiled significance of positively charged residues in forming a stable membrane interaction. Engraulisin represents a novel marine-derived cell penetrating peptide which can be explored for cellular delivery of pharmaceutically relevant molecules.