title: In vitro activity of synthetic antimicrobial peptides against Candida.
abstract: Yeast-like fungi are the most common cause of fungal infections in humans. Actually, in the age of opportunistic infections and increasing resistance, development of modern antifungal agents becomes a very important challenge. This paper describes synthesis and antimicrobial assay of four naturally occurring peptide antibiotics (aurein 1.2, citropin 1.1, temporin A, uperin 3.6) and three chemically engineered analogues actually passing clinical trials (iseganan, pexiganan, omiganan) against Candida strains isolated from patients with infections of the oral cavity or respiratory tract. The peptides were synthesized using solid-phase method and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Biological tests were performed using the broth microdilution method. The antifungal activity of the peptide antibiotics was compared to that of nystatin and amphotericin B. We found synthetic peptides to be generally less potent than amphotericin B or nystatin. However, some of the naturally occurring peptides still retained reasonable antifungal activities which were higher than these of iseganan, pexiganan or omiganan. We think that the naturally occurring peptide antibiotics included in our study can be a good matrix for development of novel antifungal compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland. kamysz@amg.gda.pl
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kamysz
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nadolski
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kedzia
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cirioni
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barchiesi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giacometti
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scalise
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukasiak
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okrój
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides