Abstract
The rapid emergence of multidrug resistant microorganisms has become one of the most critical threats to public health. A decrease in the effectiveness of available antibiotics has led to the failure of infection control, resulting in a high risk of death. Among several alternatives, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) serve as potential alternatives to antibiotics to resolve the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens. These small proteins exhibit potent antimicrobial activity and are also an essential component of the immune system. Although several AMPs have been reported and characterized, studies associated with their potential medical applications are limited. This review highlights the novel sources of AMPs with high antimicrobial activities, including the entomopathogenic nematode/bacterium (EPN/EPB) symbiotic complex. Additionally, the AMPs derived from insects, nematodes, and marine organisms and the design of peptidomimetic antimicrobial agents that can complement the defects of therapeutic peptides have been used as a template.
Highlights
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules that generally consist of 10–50 amino acids and are highly conserved in a wide range of species, including insects, nematodes, microbes, and mammals
Xu et al (2019) reported a novel Moricin (Px-Mor) from the diamondback moth that showed a broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive bacterium (GPB), Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), and fungi, including the opportunistic human pathogen Aureobasidium pullulans. They suggested that Px-Mor can be used as a potential topical antimicrobial agent (Xu et al, 2019). These results indicate the importance of insect-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) against pathogens and could be further employed against multidrug-resistant pathogens or in combination with existing antibiotics (Table 1)
A novel antibacterial peptide named PcnAMP, extracted from Procambarus clarkia (Pcn), exhibits a significant inhibitory effect against Gram-positive and GNB strains such as S. aureus and M. luteus
Summary
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules that generally consist of 10–50 amino acids and are highly conserved in a wide range of species, including insects, nematodes, microbes, and mammals. AMPs can be considered potential drug candidates to treat pathogenic microorganisms due to their broad-spectrum activity, lesser toxicity, decreased resistance development by the target cells, and capability to modulate the host immune response (Hancock and Patrzykat, 2002; Xu et al, 2019). These short AMPs, rich in serine residues, are stabilized by the disulfide bonds and contain potential antimicrobial activities against BPB (S. aureus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus luteus) and GNB (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Serratia marcescens, and E. coli) and are less effective against fungi (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, C. albicans) (Andrä et al, 2001; Andersson et al, 2003; Pillai et al, 2005; Bruno et al, 2019).
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