title: The activity of a small lytic peptide PTP-7 on Staphylococcus aureus biofilms.
abstract: One of the most important features of bacterial biofilms is their resistance to antibiotics and to the host immune system. In this study, we have found that a small lytic peptide, PTP-7, is very potent to Gram-positive bacteria and is able to kill antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus indiscriminately. Further studies have revealed that despite being a cationic peptide, the antibacterial activity of PTP-7 was not affected by the negatively charged extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of biofilms. PTP-7 could diffuse into the deep layer of S. aureus biofilms to kill bacteria inside biofilms efficiently and effectively. Neither the high concentrations of metal ions nor the acidic pH in biofilms affected the activity of peptide PTP-7. It seems that the unique sequence/structure together with the resistant bacteria killing ability of peptide PTP-7 confers its anti-biofilm activity. This study sheds new light on the treatment of bacterial biofilms, especially various biofilm related infections.
authors: Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, Charles V. Schaefer School of Engineering and Sciences, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.
authors: Riddhi
authors: R
authors: Kharidia
authors: Jun F
authors: JF
authors: Liang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010455:Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; C569191:PTP-7 lytic peptide; D010455:Peptides