Synthesis and anti-pseudomonal activity of new ß-Ala modified analogues of the antimicrobial peptide anoplin

Arginine and tryptophan-rich dendritic antimicrobial peptides that disrupt membranes for bacterial infection in vivo

The potent antibacterial activity and low resistance of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) render them potential candidates for treating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Herein, a minimalist design strategy was proposed employing the "golden partner" combination of arginine (R) and tryptophan (W), along with a dendritic structure to design AMPs. By extension, the α/ε-amino group and the carboxyl group of lysine (K) were utilized to link R and W, forming dendritic peptide templates αRn(εRn)KWm-NH2 and αWn(εWn)KRm-NH2, respectively. The corresponding linear peptide templates R2nKWm-NH2 and W2nKRm-NH2 were used as controls. Their physicochemical properties, activity, toxicity, and stability were compared. Among these new peptides, the dendritic peptide R2(R2)KW4 was screened as a prospective candidate owing to its preferable antibacterial properties, biocompatibility, and stability. Additionally, R2(R2)KW4 not only effectively restrained the progression of antibiotic resistance, but also demonstrated synergistic utility when combined with conventional antibiotics due to its unique membrane-disruptive mechanism. Furthermore, R2(R2)KW4 possessed low toxicity (LD50 = 109.31 mg/kg) in vivo, while efficiently clearing E. coli in pulmonary-infected mice. In conclusion, R2(R2)KW4 has the potential to become an antimicrobial regent or adjuvant, and the minimalist design strategy of dendritic peptides provides innovative and encouraging thoughts in designing AMPs.

A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research into the Effects of Antimicrobial Peptides on Biofilms-January 2020 to September 2023

Microbial biofilm formation creates a persistent and resistant environment in which microorganisms can survive, contributing to antibiotic resistance and chronic inflammatory diseases. Increasingly, biofilms are caused by multi-drug resistant microorganisms, which, coupled with a diminishing supply of effective antibiotics, is driving the search for new antibiotic therapies. In this respect, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short, hydrophobic, and amphipathic peptides that show activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria and biofilm formation. They also possess broad-spectrum activity and diverse mechanisms of action. In this comprehensive review, 150 publications (from January 2020 to September 2023) were collected and categorized using the search terms 'polypeptide antibiotic agent', 'antimicrobial peptide', and 'biofilm'. During this period, a wide range of natural and synthetic AMPs were studied, of which LL-37, polymyxin B, GH12, and Nisin were the most frequently cited. Furthermore, although many microbes were studied, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most popular. Publications also considered AMP combinations and the potential role of AMP delivery systems in increasing the efficacy of AMPs, including nanoparticle delivery. Relatively few publications focused on AMP resistance. This comprehensive review informs and guides researchers about the latest developments in AMP research, presenting promising evidence of the role of AMPs as effective antimicrobial agents.

A novel antimicrobial peptide with broad-spectrum and exceptional stability derived from the natural peptide Brevicidine

The global issue of antibiotic resistance is increasingly severe, highlighting the urgent necessity for the development of new antibiotics. Brevicidine, a natural cyclic lipopeptide, exhibits remarkable antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, a comprehensive structure-activity relationship of Brevicidine was investigated through 20 newly synthesized cyclic lipopeptide analogs, resulting in the identification of an optimal linear analog 22. The sequence of analog 22 consisted of five d-amino acids and four non-natural amino acid 2,5-diaminovaleric acid (Orn) and conjugated with decanoic acid at N-terminal. Compared to Brevicidine, analog 22 was easier to synthesize, and exerted broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and excellent stability (t1/2 = 40.98 h). Additionally, analog 22 demonstrated a rapid bactericidal effect by permeating non-specifically through the bacterial membranes, thereby minimizing the likelihood of inducing resistance. Moreover, it exhibited remarkable efficacy in combating bacterial biofilms and reversing bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics. Furthermore, it effectively suppressed the growth of bacteria in vital organs of mice infected with S. aureus ATCC 25923. In conclusion, analog 22 may represent a potential antimicrobial peptide for further optimization.

Structure modification of anoplin for fighting resistant bacteria

The emergence of bacterial resistance has posed a significant challenge to clinical antimicrobial treatment, rendering commonly used antibiotics ineffective. The development of novel antimicrobial agents and strategies is imperative for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered a promising class of antimicrobial agents due to their low propensity for resistance and broad-spectrum activity. Anoplin is a small linear α-helical natural antimicrobial peptide that was isolated from the venom of the solitary wasp Anplius samariensis. It exhibits rich biological activity, particularly broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic activity. Over the past three decades, more than 40 research publications on anoplin have been made available online. This review focuses on the advancements of anoplin in antimicrobial research, encompassing its sources, characterization, antimicrobial activity, influencing factors and structural modifications. The aim is to provide assistances for the development of new antimicrobial agents that can combat bacterial resistance.

Short, mirror-symmetric antimicrobial peptides centered on "RRR" have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity with low drug resistance and toxicity

The increasingly severe bacterial resistance worldwide pushes people to discover and design potential antibacterial drugs unavoidably. In this work, a series of short, mirror-symmetric peptides were designed and successfully synthesized, centered on "RRR" and labeled with hydrophobic amino acids at both ends. Based on the structure-activity relationship analysis, LWWR (LWWRRRWWL-NH₂) was screened as a desirable mirror-symmetric peptide for further study. As expected, LWWR displayed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against the standard bacteria and antibiotic-resistant strains. Undoubtedly, the high stability of LWWR in a complex physiological environment was an essential guarantee to maximizing its antibacterial activity. Indeed, LWWR also exhibited a rapid bactericidal speed and a low tendency to develop bacterial resistance, based on the multiple actions of non-receptor-mediated membrane actions and intra-cellular mechanisms. Surprisingly, although LWWR showed similar in vivo antibacterial activity compared with Polymyxin B and Melittin, the in vivo safety of LWWR was far higher than that of them, so LWWR had better therapeutic potential. In summary, the desirable mirror-symmetric peptide LWWR was promised as a potential antibacterial agent to confront the antibiotics resistance crisis. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Witnessing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, a series of short, mirror-symmetric peptides based on the symmetric center "RRR" and hydrophobic terminals were designed and synthesized in this study. Among, LWWR (LWWRRRWWL-NH₂) presented broad-spectrum antibacterial activity both in vitro and in vivo due to its multiple mechanisms and good stability. Meanwhile, the low drug resistance and toxicity of LWWR also suggested its potential for clinical application. The findings of this study will provide some inspiration for the design and development of potential antibacterial agents, and contribute to the elimination of bacterial infections worldwide as soon as possible.

The Antimicrobial Peptide MPX Can Kill Staphylococcus aureus, Reduce Biofilm Formation, and Effectively Treat Bacterial Skin Infections in Mice

Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen that can cause pneumonia and a variety of skin diseases. Skin injuries have a high risk of colonization by S. aureus, which increases morbidity and mortality. Due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, antimicrobial peptides are considered to be among the best alternatives to antibiotics due to their unique mechanism of action and other characteristics. MPX is an antibacterial peptide extracted from wasp venom that has antibacterial activity against a variety of bacteria. This study revealed that MPX has good bactericidal activity against S. aureus and that its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is 0.08 μM. MPX (4×MIC) can kill 99.9% of bacteria within 1 h, and MPX has good stability. The research on the bactericidal mechanism found that MPX could destroy the membrane integrity, increase the membrane permeability, change the membrane electromotive force, and cause cellular content leakage, resulting in bactericidal activity. Results from a mouse scratch model experiment results show that MPX can inhibit colonization by S. aureus, which reduces the wound size, decreases inflammation, and promotes wound healing. This study reports the activity of MPX against S. aureus and its mechanism and reveals the ability of MPX to treat S. aureus infection in mice, laying the foundation for the development of new drugs for bacterial infections.

Novel Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Peptide Derived from Anoplin and Its Activity on Bacterial Pneumonia in Mice

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has major issues for treating bacterial pneumonia. Currently, anoplin (GLLKRIKTLL-NH₂) is a natural antimicrobial candidate derived from wasp venom. In this study, a series of new antimicrobial peptide (AMP) anoplin analogues were designed and synthesized. The relationship between their biological activities and their positive charge, hydrophobicity, amphipathicity, and secondary structure are described. The characteristic shared by these peptides is that positively charged amino acids and hydrophobic amino acids are severally arranged on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface of the α-helix to form a completely amphiphilic structure. To achieve ideal AMPs, below the range of the threshold of the cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity, their charges and hydrophobicity were increased as much. Among the new analogues, A-21 (KWWKKWKKWW-NH₂) exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity (geometric mean of minimum inhibitory concentrations = 4.76 μM) against all the tested bacterial strains, high bacterial cell selectivity in vitro, high effectiveness against bacterial pneumonia in mice infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae, and low toxicity in mice (LD₅₀ = 82.01 mg/kg). A-21 exhibited a potent bacterial membrane-damaging mechanism and lipopolysaccharide-binding ability. These data provide evidence that A-21 is a promising antimicrobial candidate for the treatment of bacterial pneumonia.

Antimicrobial peptides with symmetric structures against multidrug-resistant bacteria while alleviating antimicrobial resistance

In response to the dramatically increasing antimicrobial resistance, a series of new symmetric peptides were designed and synthesized in this study by a "WWW" motif as the symmetric center, arginine as the positive charge amino acid and the terminus symmetrically tagged with hydrophobic amino acids. Amongst the new symmetric peptide FRRW (FRRWWWRRF-NH₂) presented the highest cell selectivity for bacteria over mammalian cell and exerted excellent antimicrobial potential against a broad of bacteria, especially difficult-to-kill multidrug-resistant strains clinical isolates. FRRW also displayed perfect stability in physiological salt ions and rapid killing speed as well as acted on multiple mechanisms including non-receptor mediated membrane and intra-molecular mechanisms. Importantly, FRRW emerged a low tendency of resistance in contrast to traditional antibiotics ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. What's more, FRRW could resist or alleviate or even reverse the ciprofloxacin- and gentamicin-resistance by changing the permeability of bacterial membrane and inhibiting the efflux pumps of bacteria. Furthermore, FRRW exhibited remarkable effectiveness and higher safety in vivo than polymyxin B. In summary, the new symmetric peptide FRRW was promised to be as a new antimicrobial candidate for overcoming the increasing bacterial resistance.

A Review of Bioactive Peptides: Chemical Modification, Structural Characterization and Therapeutic Applications

In recent years, the development and applications of protein drugs have attracted extensive attention from researchers. However, the shortcomings of protein drugs also limit their further development. Therefore, bioactive peptides isolated or simulated from protein polymers have broad application prospects in food, medicine, biotechnology, and other industries. Such peptides have a molecular weight distribution between 180 and 1000 Da. As a small molecule substance, bioactive peptide is usually degraded by various enzymes in the organism and have a short half-life. At the same time, such substances have poor stability and are difficult to produce and store. Therefore, these active peptides may be modified through phosphorylation, glycosylation, and acylation. Compared with other protein drugs, the modified active peptides are more easily absorbed by the body, have longer half-life, stronger targeting, and fewer side effects in addition to higher bioavailability. In the light of their functions, bioactive peptide can be divided into antimicrobial, anti-tumour, anti-angiogenic, antioxidant, anti-fatigue, and anti-hypertensive peptides. This article mainly focuses on the introduction of several promising biologically active peptides functioning as antimicrobial, anti-tumour, antiangiogenic, and antioxidant peptides from the three aspects modification, structural characteristics and mechanism of action.

Identification of a Novel Cathelicidin from the Deinagkistrodon acutus Genome with Antibacterial Activity by Multiple Mechanisms

The abuse of antibiotics and the consequent increase of drug-resistant bacteria constitute a serious threat to human health, and new antibiotics are urgently needed. Research shows that antimicrobial peptides produced by natural organisms are potential substitutes for antibiotics. Based on Deinagkistrodonacutus (known as five-pacer viper) genome bioinformatics analysis, we discovered a new cathelicidin antibacterial peptide which was called FP-CATH. Circular dichromatic analysis showed a typical helical structure. FP-CATH showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. It has antibacterial activity to Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that FP-CATH could cause the change of bacterial cell integrity, having a destructive effect on Gram-negative bacteria and inducing Gram-positive bacterial surface formation of vesicular structure. FP-CATH could bind to LPS and showed strong binding ability to bacterial DNA. In vivo, FP-CATH can improve the survival rate of nematodes in bacterial invasion experiments, and has a certain protective effect on nematodes. To sum up, FP-CATH is likely to play a role in multiple mechanisms of antibacterial action by impacting bacterial cell integrity and binding to bacterial biomolecules. It is hoped that the study of FP-CATH antibacterial mechanisms will prove useful for development of novel antibiotics.