A peptide of heparin cofactor II inhibits endotoxin-mediated shock and invasive Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

ABSTRACT: Sepsis and septic shock remain important medical problems with high mortality rates. Today's treatment is based mainly on using antibiotics to target the bacteria, without addressing the systemic inflammatory response, which is a major contributor to mortality in sepsis. Therefore, novel treatment options are urgently needed to counteract these complex sepsis pathologies. Heparin cofactor II (HCII) has recently been shown to be protective against Gram-negative infections. The antimicrobial effects were mapped to helices A and D of the molecule. Here we show that KYE28, a 28 amino acid long peptide representing helix D of HCII, is antimicrobial against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, as we

SUBMITTER: Kalle M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4105479 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature