Antimicrobial peptides properties beyond growth inhibition and bacterial killing

PeerJ

article

Israel Castillo-Juárez¹  Blanca Esther Blancas-Luciano²  Rodolfo García-Contreras²  Ana María Fernández-Presas² 

[1]Laboratorio de Fitoquímica

[2]Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

关键词: Antimicrobial peptide;    Virulence;    Bioflm;    Secretion systems;    Toxin-Antitoxin;    Adyuvants;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12667

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are versatile molecules with broad antimicrobial activity produced by representatives of the three domains of life. Also, there are derivatives of AMPs and artificial short peptides that can inhibit microbial growth. Beyond killing microbes, AMPs at grow sub-inhibitory concentrations also exhibit anti-virulence activity against critical pathogenic bacteria, including ESKAPE pathogens. Anti-virulence therapies are an alternative to antibiotics since they do not directly affect viability and growth, and they are considered less likely to generate resistance. Bacterial biofilms significantly increase antibiotic resistance and are linked to establishing chronic infections. Various AMPs can kill biofilm cells and eradicate infections in animal models. However, some can inhibit biofilm formation and promote dispersal at sub-growth inhibitory concentrations. These examples are discussed here, along with those of peptides that inhibit the expression of traits controlled by quorum sensing, such as the production of exoproteases, phenazines, surfactants, toxins, among others. In addition, specific targets that are determinants of virulence include secretion systems (type II, III, and VI) responsible for releasing effector proteins toxic to eukaryotic cells. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the anti-virulence properties of AMPs and the future directions of their research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY