title: Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone: an emerging anti-inflammatory antimicrobial peptide.
abstract: The alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is a neuropeptide belonging to the melanocortin family. It is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects and shares several characteristics with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). There have been some recent reports about the direct antimicrobial activity of α-MSH against various microbes belonging to both fungal and bacterial pathogens. Similar to α-MSH's anti-inflammatory properties, its C-terminal residues also exhibit antimicrobial activity parallel to that of the entire peptide. This review is focused on the current findings regarding the direct antimicrobial potential and immunomodulatory mechanism of α-MSH and its C-terminal fragments, with particular emphasis on the prospects of α-MSH based peptides as a strong anti-infective agent.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India ; School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
authors.forename: Madhuri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
authors.forename: Kasturi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000521:alpha-MSH