Title:Antimicrobial Peptides and Peptidomimetics - Potent Therapeutic Allies for Staphylococcal Infections
Volume: 21
Issue: 16
Author(s): Haroon Mohammad, Shankar Thangamani and Mohamed N. Seleem
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Antimicrobial peptides, peptidomimetics, antibiotics, multidrug-resistance, staphylococci, MRSA, bacterial resistance, antibacterial,
immunomodulatory agents.
Abstract: The pervasiveness of bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics, particularly those associated with
staphylococcal infections, has become a global epidemic. However, research involving antimicrobial peptides
(AMPs) and their synthetic analogues has unearthed a potentially novel class of antibacterials for the treatment of
an array of diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria, such as staphylococci. AMPs have several unique advantages
over traditional antibiotics such as the projected slow emergence of bacterial resistance to these agents and their
capability to modulate the host immune response to infection. Unfortunately, their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation,
loss of antimicrobial activity due to serum binding or physiological concentration of salts, and toxicity to
host tissues has limited their use as systemic agents thus far. Additionally, the presence of economic and regulatory
obstacles has hindered the translation of AMPs, as antimicrobials, from the bench to the clinic. The present review
delves further into the benefits and challenges of utilizing AMPs as antibacterial agents (particularly for staphylococcal infections), the
methods which have been utilized to overcome their limitations, their successes and failures in clinical trials, and future avenues for researchers
to pursue to develop AMPs as novel therapeutic allies in the treatment of bacterial infections.
