Evaluation of Peptoid Mimics of Short, Lipophilic Peptide Antimicrobials
Posted by Adam Awdish on
Single Donor Human Red Blood Cells from Innovative Research was used in the following study:
Evaluation of Peptoid Mimics of Short, Lipophilic Peptide Antimicrobials
R. Madison Green, Kevin L. Bicker
International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
June 6, 2020
For patients recovering from surgery or dealing with weakened immune systems, nosocomial infections are a serious complication and may be fatal. These infections can be acquired through improper hygiene or inadequately cleaned surfaces. The ESKAPE pathogens, which include Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp., are identified as the bacteria most often responsible for resistant, hospital-borne bacterial infections. Additionally, Candida albicans is the most common nosocomial fungal pathogen with high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. While not prevalent in hospital-borne infections, a second fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans, can result in deadly cryptococcosis or cryptococcal meningitis, especially in immunocompromised individuals.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a part of the innate immune response of animals to microbial infection. Antimicrobial peptides are proving to be promising lead compounds for therapeutics. The major disadvantage of antimicrobial peptides, however, is their proteolytic instability in the body with half-lives averaging less than an hour.
Peptoids, or N-substituted glycines, have emerged as a promising field of peptidomimetics by retaining the beneficial properties of antimicrobial peptides while improving on their stability. This study evaluated peptoid derivatives of ultra-short lipophilic antimicrobial peptides, comparing their potency side-by-side against the most prevalent multidrug resistant bacteria (ESKAPE) and yeast pathogens (Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans).
In general, peptides retained better antimicrobial activity than their peptoid counterparts, however, certain peptoids proved to be more effective than peptides against Gram-negative bacteria. All compounds tested were more potent against C. neoformans compared to C. albicans. Cytotoxicity analysis indicated that in general, peptoids were slightly less toxic than their peptide counterparts. Additionally, trypsin rapidly degraded one of the peptides evaluated while having no effect on comparable peptoids, demonstrating the proteolytic stability of peptoids. The study used Single Donor Human Red Blood Cells from Innovative Research, Inc. (Novi, MI).
Related products available from Innovative Research also include:
Pooled Human Red Blood Cells Lyophilized