Antimicrobial peptides or "new artifact" are not easy to produce drug resistance

In the past few decades, many bacteria have developed resistance to existing antibiotics If new antibiotics cannot be developed, an estimated 10 million people will die each year from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections by 2050, according to a study by the British antimicrobial resistance assessment commission   In order to develop effective weapons against infectious diseases, scientists have turned their research direction to antimicrobial peptides Antimicrobial peptide is a natural protein that can kill not only bacteria, but also viruses and fungi Researchers have been trying to use antimicrobial peptide to replace antibiotics Natural antimicrobial peptides are composed of 20 different amino acids, which are arranged in many combinations By adjusting its order, it can be used in clinic   In the new study, the researchers initially studied clavanin-a, a natural antimicrobial peptide from marine animals that are encapsulated The substance can kill a variety of bacteria, with a positive area and a hydrophobic area The researchers added five amino acid sequences to make it more hydrophobic In mouse experiments, the researchers found that the antimicrobial peptide can kill Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which are resistant to most antibiotics, and can treat those infected animals that cannot be cured by traditional antibiotic therapy
The researchers also found that the antimicrobial peptide can destroy the biofilm on the surface of bacterial cells, which can be used to treat infections caused by biofilm, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which has an impact on patients with pulmonary cystic fibrosis; it can also be embedded on the surface of objects to prevent microbial growth; in addition, it can be made into ointment to treat skin caused by Staphylococcus aureus or other bacteria Infected   Researchers expect the new peptide to be used either alone or in combination with traditional antibiotics, making it difficult for bacteria to develop resistance At present, researchers are studying why the synthetic antimicrobial peptide is more effective than natural antimicrobial peptide in order to make it have better application prospects   Editor in chief circle
Since the discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, by British scientist Fleming in 1928, human beings have been temporarily free from the nightmare of bacterial infectious diseases However, everything in the world is different from each other In nature, bacteria have their own "upgrading" function, which leads to drug resistance The discovery of new antibiotics and the generation of new drug resistance are regarded as a contest of "magic is one foot high, and the way is one foot high" In the new round of wrestling, antimicrobial peptides bring new hope In view of this, human beings should praise and thank the lower marine animals.