title: Anti-mycobacterial peptides: from human to phage.
abstract: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the major pathogen of tuberculosis (TB). With the growing problem of M. tuberculosis resistant to conventional antibiotics, especially multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively-drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the need for new TB drugs is now more prominent than ever. Among the promising candidates for anti-TB drugs, anti-mycobacterial peptides have a few advantages, such as low immunogenicity, selective affinity to prokaryotic negatively charged cell envelopes, and diverse modes of action. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the anti-mycobacterial peptides, highlighting the sources, effectiveness and bactericidal mechanisms of these antimicrobial peptides. Most of the current anti-mycobacterial peptides are derived either from host immune cells, bacterial extraction, or mycobacteriophages. Besides trans-membrane pore formation, which is considered to be the common bactericidal mechanism, many of the anti-mycobacterial peptides have the second non-membrane targets within mycobacteria. Additionally, some antimicrobial peptides play critical roles in innate immunity. However, a few obstacles, such as short half-life in vivo and resistance to antimicrobial peptides, need overcoming before clinical applications. Nevertheless, the multiple functions of anti-mycobacterial peptides, especially direct killing of pathogens and immune-modulators in infectious and inflammatory conditions, indicate that they are promising candidates for future drug development.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Tieshan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Jiafa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hongping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055808:Drug Discovery; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides