Mechanisms involved in the antimycobacterial activity of certain basic peptides.

The antimycobacterial activity of thymus peptide under certain conditions in vitro can be partially neutralized by increasing the concentration of sulfate ions in the medium, and to a lesser extent by the addition of certain organic compounds which contain sulfur. It is suggested that thymus peptide suppresses the growth of tubercle bacilli by interfering with the normal sulfur metabolism of these microorganisms. Polylysine peptide and pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone, other basic peptides derived from animal tissues, also inhibit the multiplication of tubercle bacilli in vitro, and their antimycobacterial activity is also antagonized by sulfate ions. Basic peptide hormones prepared from the posterior pituitary gland do not affect the growth of acid-fast bacteria under the conditions of the test.