title: The Design and Construction of K11: A Novel α-Helical Antimicrobial Peptide.
abstract: Amphipathic α-helical antimicrobial peptides comprise a class of broad-spectrum agents that are used against pathogens. We designed a series of antimicrobial peptides, CP-P (KWKSFIKKLTSKFLHLAKKF) and its derivatives, and determined their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, their minimum hemolytic concentrations (MHCs) for human erythrocytes, and the Therapeutic Index (MHC/MIC ratio). We selected the derivative peptide K11, which had the highest therapeutic index (320) among the tested peptides, to determine the MICs against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and 22 clinical isolates including Acinetobacter baumannii, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Klebsiella pneumonia. K11 exhibited low MICs (less than 10 μg/mL) and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, especially against clinically isolated drug-resistant pathogens. Therefore, these results indicate that K11 is a promising candidate antimicrobial peptide for further studies.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, College of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Huang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin-Jiang
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin-Chun
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Huang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qing-Shan
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo-Dong