Elucidating the Impact of Red Blood Cell Membrane Components on Melittin-Induced Pore Formation with Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the membrane-disrupting mode of action of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in complex biological membranes is critical for the design of therapeutically viable AMPs that are both active against microbial pathogens and nontoxic to human cells. To assess human toxicity in AMP design studies, melittin (MEL) (a highly charged 26-amino acid AMP sourced from bee venom) is often used as the positive control in experimental human red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis assays. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have proven invaluable in elucidating the pore-formation mechanism of MEL in single-lipid zwitterionic membranes. However, modeling pore formation in lipid bilayers containing multiple lipid species, like RBC membranes, has been limited due to the challenges of using atomistic MD simulat

SUBMITTER: Richardson JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12591385 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature