Antifungal and Antibiofilm Activities and the Mechanism of Action of Repeating Lysine-Tryptophan Peptides against Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: The rapid increase in the emergence of antifungal-resistant Candida albicans strains is becoming a serious health concern. Because antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may provide a potential alternative to conventional antifungal agents, we have synthesized a series of peptides with a varying number of lysine and tryptophan repeats (KW_n-NH₂). The antifungal activity of these peptides increased with peptide length, but only the longest KW₅ peptide displayed cytotoxicity towards a human keratinocyte cell line. The KW₄ and KW₅ peptides exhibited strong antifungal activity against C. albicans, even under conditions of high-salt and acidic pH, or the addition of fungal cell wall components. Moreover, KW₄ inhibited biofilm

SUBMITTER: Ramamourthy G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7285485 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature