Properties and design of antimicrobial peptides as potential tools against pathogens and malignant cells

Résumé fourni par la source

In the last years, the indiscriminate use of conventional antibiotics has generated a worrisome increase of resistant pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered a plausible alternative therapy against pathogens due to their structural and functional characteristics, as well as their low toxicity against eukaryotic cells and their broad spectrum of action against different pathogens, including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, parasite and virus. Interestingly, AMPs also have the capability to recognize certain types of plasma membranes, and this selectivity allows differential recognition of normal cells, non-malignant tumor cells and malignant tumor cells; thereby the use of these AMPs could be a viable alternative for cancer treatment. These peptides can be isolated from different organisms, such as microorganisms, plants and animals. Such peptides are amphipathic and cationic molecules of low molecular weight and they have a low probability to generate resistance. Therefore these natural peptides have been utilized as the base for synthetizing new analog peptides with chemical or structural modifications for improving their antimicrobial stability and efficiency. In this review, we focused on an overview of the AMPs: properties, mechanisms of action, and their different applications for combating pathogens in diverse fields, as well as their use due to the anticancer activity. We also focused on some strategies for the design of new peptides, and finally, we discussed some drawbacks to overcome their use as therapeutic agents.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.