Nematode Peptides with Host-Directed Anti-inflammatory Activity Rescue Caenorhabditis elegans from a Burkholderia pseudomallei Infection.

ABSTRACT: Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is among a growing number of bacterial pathogens that are increasingly antibiotic resistant. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been investigated as an alternative approach to treat microbial infections, as generally, there is a lower likelihood that a pathogen will develop resistance to AMPs. In this study, 36 candidate Caenorhabditis elegans genes that encode secreted peptides of <150 amino acids and previously shown to be overexpressed during infection by B. pseudomallei were identified from the expression profile of infected nematodes. RNA interference (RNAi)-based knockdown of 12/34 peptide-encoding genes resulted in enhanced nematode susceptibility to B. pseudomallei without affecting worm fitness. A microdilution test de

SUBMITTER: Lim MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5019075 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature