Antimicrobial activities of chicken β-defensin (4 and 10) peptides against pathogenic bacteria and fungi.
Host Defense Peptides (HDPs) are small cationic peptides found in several organisms. They play a vital role in innate immunity response and immunomodulatory stimulation. This investigation was designed to study the antimicrobial activities of β-defensin peptide-4 (sAvBD-4) and 10 (sAvBD-4) derived from chickens against pathogenic organisms including bacteria and fungi. Ten bacterial strains and three fungal species were used in investigation. The results showed that the sAvBD-10 displayed a higher bactericidal potency against all the tested bacterial strains than that of sAvBD-4. The exhibited bactericidal activity was significant against almost the different bacterial strains at different peptide concentrations except for that of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Streptococcus bovis (Str. bovis) strains where a moderate effect was noted. Both peptides were effective in the inactivation of fungal species tested yielding a killing rate of up to 95%. The results revealed that the synthetic peptides were resistant to salt at a concentration of 50 mM NaCl. However, they lost antimicrobial potency when applied in the presence of high salt concentrations. Based on blood hemolysis studies, a little hemolytic effect was showed in the case of both peptides even when applied at high concentrations. The data obtained from this study indicated that synthetic avian peptides exhibit strong antibacterial and antifungal activity. In conclusion, future work and research should be tailored to a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of those peptides and their potential use in the pharmaceutical industry to help reduce the incidence and impact of infectious agent and be marketed as a naturally occurring antibiotic.
Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ; Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, Cell Biology Department, National Research Centre Gizza, Egypt.
Haitham A
HA
Yacoub
Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, University of Jeddah Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ; Division of Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries, Department of Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products, National Research Centre Gizza, Egypt.
Ahmed M
AM
Elazzazy
Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Osama A H
OA
Abuzinadah
Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed M
AM
Al-Hejin
King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ; Division of Human Genetics and Genome Research, Department of Molecular Genetics and Enzymology, National Research Centre Gizza, Egypt.
Maged M
MM
Mahmoud
Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Steve M
SM
Harakeh
D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects*; D006461:Hemolysis; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023083:beta-Defensins
antimicrobial activity; bacteria; fungi; natural antibiotic; synthetic AvBD-4 and 10