It is difficult to identify new antifungal agents because of their eukaryotic nature. However, antimicrobial peptides can well differentiate among cell types owing to their variable amino acid content. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal effect of Hn-Mc, a chimeric peptide comprised of the N-terminus of HPA3NT3 and the C-terminus of melittin. We evaluated its potent antifungal activity at low minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 1–16 μM against pathogenic yeast and molds. The cell-type specificity of Hn-Mc was mediated through the formation of a random α-helical structure to mimic the fungal membrane environment. Furthermore, Hn-Mc caused cell death in C. tropicalis and F. oxysporum by inducing apoptosis via the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to mitochondrial damage. The present results indicate that Hn-Mc has a high affinity for the fungal plasma membrane and induces apoptosis in fungal cells, and provide guidance for the development of new antifungal agents.

中文翻译：

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嵌合肽Hn-Mc对病原性真菌菌株的抗真菌作用。

由于它们的真核性质，很难鉴定出新的抗真菌剂。但是，由于抗菌肽的氨基酸含量可变，因此它们可以很好地区分细胞类型。这项研究旨在研究Hn-Mc（一种由HPA3NT3的N端和蜂毒肽的C端组成的嵌合肽）的抗真菌作用。我们在低致病性酵母和霉菌的最低最低抑菌浓度（MIC）为1–16μM的情况下评估了其有效的抗真菌活性。Hn-Mc的细胞类型特异性是通过形成随机的α-螺旋结构来模拟真菌膜环境而介导的。此外，HN-MC引起细胞死亡热带念珠菌和F.病菌 通过线粒体损伤引起的活性氧（ROS）的产生诱导凋亡。目前的结果表明，Hn-Mc对真菌的质膜具有很高的亲和力，并诱导真菌细胞凋亡，并为开发新型抗真菌剂提供指导。