Antimicrobial Peptides: A New Hope in the War against Multi-Drug Resistance

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Peptides".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 6997

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: antimicrobial peptides; mechanism of peptide drugs; bacterial resistance; antibiotic alternatives; IgY antobody; vaccines; drug development for the treatment bacterial infection
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Large amounts of antibiotics used for human therapy and farm animals have resulted in the selection of pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple drugs. There is an increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) bacteria globally, which are exceedingly difficult to treat and which constitute a growing health problem. The most important types of MDR bacteria include Enterococcus faecium, S. aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species (ESKAPE). However, it is very difficult to treat MDR bacteria. Thus, there is a tremendous interest in developing novel agents as alternative approaches for treating MDR pathogen infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also known as host defense peptides, are natural or synthetic peptides with potent antimicrobial activity against diverse micrograms, particularly MDR bacterial pathogens. Due to broad spectrum activity, rapid killing rate, and low drug resistance potential, some AMPs have been proposed to be a promising alternative for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens. This Special Issue seeks manuscript submissions that further our understanding of AMPs, which are regarded as alternatives to antibiotics to combat MDR bacteria. Submissions on design, expression, structure, antimicrobial activity, mechanism of AMPs which are used to reduce transmission of MDR pathogens are especially encouraged.

Dr. Xiumin Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • antimicrobial peptide
  • design
  • expression
  • structure
  • antimicrobial activity
  • mechanism
  • alternative
  • multi-drug resistance
  • transmission
  • pathogen

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1827 KiB  
Article
Genome Mining Uncovers NRPS and PKS Clusters in Rothia dentocariosa with Inhibitory Activity against Neisseria Species
by Elvis Achondou Akomoneh, Zina Gestels, Saïd Abdellati, Katleen Vereecken, Koen Bartholomeeusen, Dorien Van den Bossche, Chris Kenyon and Sheeba Santhini Manoharan-Basil
Antibiotics 2023, 12(11), 1592; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12111592 - 4 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2284
Abstract
The growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance is reaching a crisis point as common bacterial infections, including those caused by pathogenic Neisseria species, are becoming increasingly untreatable. This is compelling the scientific community to search for new antimicrobial agents, taking advantage of computational [...] Read more.
The growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance is reaching a crisis point as common bacterial infections, including those caused by pathogenic Neisseria species, are becoming increasingly untreatable. This is compelling the scientific community to search for new antimicrobial agents, taking advantage of computational mining and using whole genome sequences to discover natural products from the human microbiome with antibiotic effects. In this study, we investigated the crude extract from a Rothia dentocariosa strain with demonstrated antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Neisseria spp. by spot-on-lawn assay. The genomic DNA of the R. dentocariosa strain was sequenced, and bioinformatic evaluation was performed using antiSMASH and PRISM to search for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). The crude extract with potential antimicrobial activity was run on Tricine-SDS-PAGE, and the putative peptides were characterised using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The crude extract inhibited the growth of the pathogenic Neisseria spp. Six BGCs were identified corresponding to non-ribosomal peptide synthases (NRPSs), polyketide synthases (PKSs), and ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides. Three peptides were also identified corresponding to Actinorhodin polyketide putative beta-ketoacyl synthase 1. These findings serve as a useful reference to facilitate the research and development of NRPS and PKS as antimicrobial products against multidrug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae. Full article
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9 pages, 1689 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Effects of Tetraspanin CD9 Peptide against Microbiota Causing Armpit Malodour
by Hassanain Al-Talib, Marwa Hasan Abdulwahab, Khairiyah Murad, Nur Deanna Amiruddin and Normi Ngah Mohamed
Antibiotics 2023, 12(2), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12020271 - 29 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2469
Abstract
Synthetic peptides, including tetraspanin CD9 peptides, are increasingly coming into focus as new treatment strategies against various organisms, including bacteria, that cause underarm odour. The use of deodorants and antiperspirants is associated with side effects. Therefore, it is critical to find an alternative [...] Read more.
Synthetic peptides, including tetraspanin CD9 peptides, are increasingly coming into focus as new treatment strategies against various organisms, including bacteria, that cause underarm odour. The use of deodorants and antiperspirants is associated with side effects. Therefore, it is critical to find an alternative therapeutic approach to combat underarm odour. The aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial effect of tetraspanin CD9 peptides against the skin microbiota that cause malodour in the underarms. The antimicrobial activity of CD9 peptides against Micrococcus luteus (M. luteus), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), and Corynebacterium xerosis (C. xerosis) was investigated by the disc diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by broth microdilution assays using CD9 peptide concentrations ranging from 1 mg/mL to 0.0078 mg/mL. In addition, the anti-biofilm activity of the CD9 peptides was determined. The CD9 peptides showed different antibacterial activity with an inhibition zone of 7.67, 9.67, 7.00, and 6.00 mm for S. epidermidis, M. luteus, C. xerosis, and B. subtilis, respectively. All bacteria had the same MBC value of 1 mg/mL. A high MIC of CD9 peptides was observed for S. epidermidis and M. luteus at 0.5 mg/mL. The MIC values of B. subtilis and C. xerosis were 0.125 mg/mL and 0.25 mg/mL, respectively. CD9 peptides significantly inhibited biofilm development of S. epidermidis, B. subtilis, and C. xerosis isolates. The CD9 tetraspanin peptide has excellent antibacterial activity against bacteria that cause underarm odour. Therefore, the CD9 tetraspanin peptide is a promising alternative to deodorants and antiperspirants to combat commensal bacteria of the skin that cause underarm odour. Full article
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Review

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15 pages, 783 KiB  
Review
AMPs as Host-Directed Immunomodulatory Agents against Skin Infections Caused by Opportunistic Bacterial Pathogens
by Subhasree Saha, Devashish Barik and Debabrata Biswas
Antibiotics 2024, 13(5), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13050439 - 13 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1546
Abstract
Skin is the primary and largest protective organ of the human body. It produces a number of highly evolved arsenal of factors to counter the continuous assault of foreign materials and pathogens from the environment. One such potent factor is the repertoire of [...] Read more.
Skin is the primary and largest protective organ of the human body. It produces a number of highly evolved arsenal of factors to counter the continuous assault of foreign materials and pathogens from the environment. One such potent factor is the repertoire of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) that not only directly destroys invading pathogens, but also optimally modulate the immune functions of the body to counter the establishment and spread of infections. The canonical direct antimicrobial functions of these AMPs have been in focus for a long time to design principles for enhanced therapeutics, especially against the multi-drug resistant pathogens. However, in recent times the immunomodulatory functions performed by these peptides at sub-microbicidal concentrations have been a point of major focus in the field of host-directed therapeutics. Such strategies have the added benefit of not having the pathogens develop resistance against the immunomodulatory pathways, since the pathogens exploit these signaling pathways to obtain and survive within the host. Thus, this review summarizes the potent immunomodulatory effect of these AMPs on, specifically, the different host immune cells with the view of providing a platform of information that might help in designing studies to exploit and formulate effective host-directed adjunct therapeutic strategies that would synergies with drug regimens to counter the current diversity of drug-resistant skin opportunistic pathogens. Full article
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