Dataset Information

Activity of an antimicrobial peptide mimetic against planktonic and biofilm cultures of oral pathogens.

ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally occurring, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents that have recently been examined for their utility as therapeutic antibiotics. Unfortunately, they are expensive to produce and are often sensitive to protease digestion. To address this problem, we have examined the activity of a peptide mimetic whose design was based on the structure of magainin, exhibiting its amphiphilic structure. We demonstrate that this compound, meta-phenylene ethynylene (mPE), exhibits antimicrobial activity at nanomolar concentrations against a variety of bacterial and Candida species found in oral infections. Since Streptococcus mutans, an etiological agent of dental caries, colonizes the tooth surface and forms a biofilm, we quantified the activity of this compound against S. mutans growing under conditions that favor biofilm formation. Our results indicate that mPE can prevent the formation of a biofilm at nanomolar concentrations. Incubation with 5 nM mPE prevents further growth of the biofilm, and 100 nM mPE reduces viable bacteria in the biofilm by 3 logs. Structure-function analyses suggest that mPE inhibits the bioactivity of lipopolysaccharide and binds DNA at equimolar ratios, suggesting that it may act both as a membrane-active molecule, similar to magainin, and as an intracellular antibiotic, similar to other AMPs. We conclude that mPE and similar molecules display great potential for development as therapeutic antimicrobials.

SUBMITTER: Beckloff N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2151458 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Activity of an antimicrobial peptide mimetic against planktonic and biofilm cultures of oral pathogens.

Beckloff Nicholas N Laube Danielle D Castro Tammy T Furgang David D Park Steven S Perlin David D Clements Dylan D Tang Haizhong H Scott Richard W RW Tew Gregory N GN Diamond Gill G

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 20070904 11

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally occurring, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents that have recently been examined for their utility as therapeutic antibiotics. Unfortunately, they are expensive to produce and are often sensitive to protease digestion. To address this problem, we have examined the activity of a peptide mimetic whose design was based on the structure of magainin, exhibiting its amphiphilic structure. We demonstrate that this compound, meta-phenylene ethynylene (mPE), exh ...[more]

PMID: 17785509

Similar Datasets

Project description:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the leading cause of wound infections, often progressing into serious invasive bloodstream infections. MRSA disproportionately affects Indigenous peoples in Canada with higher rates of skin and wound infections, an example of persistent gaps in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples precipitated by the legacy of colonialism. Conversely, Indigenous peoples have long used natural remedies for infections and other diseases; however, their knowledge was rarely considered for modern medicine. The stagnant antibiotic discovery pipeline and alarming rise of resistance to current antibiotics prompted us to turn to Indigenous medicine as an untapped source of antimicrobials. As such, we collected and prepared 85 extracts of medicinal plants of value to Indigenous peoples spanning the Canadian Prairies. We explored the antimicrobial potential of these extracts against MRSA under wound infection-mimetic conditions compared with culture media typically used to study bacterial antibiotic responses and biofilms but not adequately representative of infection sites. We identified extracts with MRSA growth inhibitory [e.g., bergamot, dock, gaillardia, and dandelion extracts] and biofilm prevention and eradication [e.g., gumweed extracts] activities. Extracts, including those of chokecherry, hoary puccoon, and Northern bedstraw, were only active under wound infection-mimetic conditions, highlighting the benefit of antibiotic discovery under host-relevant conditions. Testing growth inhibitory extracts against an S. aureus cross-resistance platform suggested that they act through mechanisms likely distinct from known antibiotic classes. Together, through an interdisciplinary partnership leveraging Western approaches and traditional Indigenous knowledge, we identified plant extracts with promising antimicrobial potential for drug-resistant MRSA wound infections.IMPORTANCEWe explored the antimicrobial potential of traditional Indigenous remedies against MRSA under wound infection-mimetic conditions. We chose to tackle MRSA wound infections because they constitute an Indigenous health priority, ensuring mutual benefits and reciprocity, which are important principles in partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. Our partnerships strive to serve as steps towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada and a roadmap inspiring similar interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle other healthcare priorities. We identified extracts with promising antibacterial growth inhibitory, biofilm prevention, and eradication activities against MRSA. The antimicrobial potential of some extracts was only observed under wound infection-mimetic conditions, a proof-of-concept that screening under infection-mimetic conditions reveals novel activity undetected under standard conditions. The natural product antimicrobial extracts discovered herein warrant further investigation into their mode of action and chemical composition; they may address the dire need for new antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity to counter the AMR crisis.

Dataset Information

Activity of an antimicrobial peptide mimetic against planktonic and biofilm cultures of oral pathogens.

Publications

Activity of an antimicrobial peptide mimetic against planktonic and biofilm cultures of oral pathogens.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets