Antiseptic 9-Meric Peptide with Potency against Carbapenem-Resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> Infection

Carbapenem-resistant <i>A. baumannii</i> (CRAB) infection can cause acute host reactions that lead to high-fatality sepsis, making it important to develop new therapeutic options. Previously, we developed a short 9-meric peptide, Pro9-3D, with significant antibacterial and cytotoxic effe...

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Autores principales: Manigandan Krishnan, Joonhyeok Choi, Ahjin Jang, Young Kyung Yoon, Yangmee Kim
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/0156f4d1ee5d413193f484763957c9a9
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Sumario:Carbapenem-resistant <i>A. baumannii</i> (CRAB) infection can cause acute host reactions that lead to high-fatality sepsis, making it important to develop new therapeutic options. Previously, we developed a short 9-meric peptide, Pro9-3D, with significant antibacterial and cytotoxic effects. In this study, we attempted to produce safer peptide antibiotics against CRAB by reversing the parent sequence to generate R-Pro9-3 and R-Pro9-3D. Among the tested peptides, R-Pro9-3D had the most rapid and effective antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, particularly clinical CRAB isolates. Analyses of antimicrobial mechanisms based on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-neutralization, LPS binding, and membrane depolarization, as well as SEM ultrastructural investigations, revealed that R-Pro9-3D binds strongly to LPS and impairs the membrane integrity of CRAB by effectively permeabilizing its outer membrane. R-Pro9-3D was also less cytotoxic and had better proteolytic stability than Pro9-3D and killed biofilm forming CRAB. As an LPS-neutralizing peptide, R-Pro9-3D effectively reduced LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in RAW 264.7 cells. The antiseptic abilities of R-Pro9-3D were also investigated using a mouse model of CRAB-induced sepsis, which revealed that R-Pro9-3D reduced multiple organ damage and attenuated systemic infection by acting as an antibacterial and immunosuppressive agent. Thus, R-Pro9-3D displays potential as a novel antiseptic peptide for treating Gram-negative CRAB infections.