Abstact

DD K, a peptide first isolated from the skin secretion of the Phyllomedusa distincta frog, has been prepared by solid-phase chemical peptide synthesis and its conformation was studied in trifluoroethanol/water as well as in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and dodecylphosphocholine micelles or small unilamellar vesicles. Multidimensional solution NMR spectroscopy indicates an alpha-helical conformation in membrane environments starting at residue 7 and extending to the C-terminal carboxyamide. Furthermore, DD K has been labeled with (15)N at a single alanine position that is located within the helical core region of the sequence. When reconstituted into oriented phosphatidylcholine membranes the resulting (15)N solid-state NMR spectrum shows a well-defined helix alignment parallel to the membrane surface in excellent agreement with the amphipathic character of DD K. Proton-decoupled (31)P solid-state NMR spectroscopy indicates that the peptide creates a high level of disorder at the level of the phospholipid headgroup suggesting that DD K partitions into the bilayer where it severely disrupts membrane packing.