An amphipathic peptide with antibiotic activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Peptide antibiotics are an abundant and synthetically tractable source of molecular diversity, but they are often cationic and can be cytotoxic, nephrotoxic and/or ototoxic, which has limited their clinical development. Here we report structure-guided optimization of an amphipathic peptide, arenicin-3, originally isolated from the marine lugworm Arenicola marina. The peptide induces bacterial membrane permeability and ATP release, with serial passaging resulting in a mutation in mlaC, a phospholipid transport gene. Structure-based design led to AA139, an antibiotic with broad-spectrum in vitro activity against multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant bacteria, including ESBL, carbapenem- and colistin-resistant clinical isolates. The antibiotic induces a 3-4 log reduction in bacte

SUBMITTER: Elliott AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7311426 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature