title: Design and activity of a 'dual-targeted' antimicrobial peptide.
abstract: Numerous reports have indicated the important role of human normal flora in the prevention of microbial pathogenesis and disease. Evidence suggests that infections at mucosal surfaces result from the outgrowth of subpopulations or clusters within a microbial community and are not linked to one pathogenic organism alone. To preserve the protective normal flora whilst treating the majority of infective bacteria in the community, a tuneable therapeutic is necessary that can discriminate between benign bystanders and multiple pathogenic organisms. Here we describe the proof-of-principle for such a multitargeted antimicrobial: a multiple-headed specifically targeted antimicrobial peptide (MH-STAMP). The completed MH-STAMP, M8(KH)-20, displays specific activity against targeted organisms in vitro (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus mutans) and can remove both species from a mixed planktonic culture with little impact against untargeted bacteria. These results demonstrate that a functional, dual-targeted molecule can be constructed from a wide-spectrum antimicrobial peptide precursor.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Maxwell H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Randal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eckert
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D050296:Microbial Viability; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides