Microbicidal effects of α- and θ-defensins against antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens threaten public health. Because many antibiotics target specific bacterial enzymes or reactions, corresponding genes may mutate under selection and lead to antibiotic resistance. Accordingly, antimicrobials that selectively target overall microbial cell integrity may offer alternative approaches to therapeutic design. Naturally occurring mammalian α- and θ-defensins are potent, non-toxic microbicides that may be useful for treating infections by antibiotic-resistant pathogens because certain defensin peptides disrupt bacterial, but not mammalian, cell membranes. To test this concept, clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), including vancomycin heteroresistant strains, and ciprofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginos

SUBMITTER: Tai KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4062604 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature