OMN6 a novel bioengineered peptide for the treatment of multidrug resistant Gram negative bacteria

Abstract New antimicrobial agents are urgently needed, especially to eliminate multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria that stand for most antibiotic-resistant threats. In the following study, we present superior properties of an engineered antimicrobial peptide, OMN6, a 40-amino acid cyclic pept...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shira Mandel, Janna Michaeli, Noa Nur, Isabelle Erbetti, Jonathan Zazoun, Livia Ferrari, Antonio Felici, Moshe Cohen-Kutner, Niv Bachnoff
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021
Subjects:
R
Q
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/83a72ed367e14c80809b6afdced28df3
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Summary:Abstract New antimicrobial agents are urgently needed, especially to eliminate multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria that stand for most antibiotic-resistant threats. In the following study, we present superior properties of an engineered antimicrobial peptide, OMN6, a 40-amino acid cyclic peptide based on Cecropin A, that presents high efficacy against Gram-negative bacteria with a bactericidal mechanism of action. The target of OMN6 is assumed to be the bacterial membrane in contrast to small molecule-based agents which bind to a specific enzyme or bacterial site. Moreover, OMN6 mechanism of action is effective on Acinetobacter baumannii laboratory strains and clinical isolates, regardless of the bacteria genotype or resistance-phenotype, thus, is by orders-of-magnitude, less likely for mutation-driven development of resistance, recrudescence, or tolerance. OMN6 displays an increase in stability and a significant decrease in proteolytic degradation with full safety margin on erythrocytes and HEK293T cells. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that OMN6 is an efficient, stable, and non-toxic novel antimicrobial agent with the potential to become a therapy for humans.