Coccinin, an antifungal peptide with antiproliferative and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory activities from large scarlet runner beans.

An antifungal peptide, designated coccinin, with a molecular mass of 7kDa and an N-terminal sequence resembling those of defensins, was purified from the seeds of large scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus cv. 'Major'). The peptide isolated was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose, and adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel and Mono S. The peptide excerted antifungal activity on a number of fungal species including Botrytis cinerea, Coprinus comatus, Fusarium oxysporum, Mycosphaerella arachidicola, Physalospora piricola, and Rhizoctonia solani. It also inhibited proliferation in the leukemia cell lines HL60 and L1210, and reduced the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. However, it did not affect proliferation of mouse splenocytes.