Titanium surfaces immobilized with the major antimicrobial fragment FK-16 of human cathelicidin LL-37 are potent against multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria |
| |
Authors: | Biswajit Mishra |
| |
Affiliation: | Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Infections on implanted medical devices are a challenging problem, especially when bacteria form difficult-to-treat biofilms. Antimicrobial peptides are considered to be a solution due to their potency against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Previously, the authors’ laboratory demonstrated the prevention of staphylococcal biofilm formation in an animal catheter model by injecting merecidin (formerly known as 17BIPHE2), a peptide engineered based on the only human cathelicidin. This study documents an alternative solution via covalent immobilization of FK-16, amino acid sequence FKRIVQRIKDFLRNLV-amide, which corresponds to the major antimicrobial region (residues 17–32) of LL-37. FK-16 is superior to the longer peptide LL-37 in terms of synthesis cost and the shorter peptide KR-12 in terms of activity spectrum. Indeed, the FK16-coated titanium surface showed a broad-spectrum activity against the ESKAPE pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species. It also demonstrated anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibition capabilities against both S. aureus and E. coli. |
| |
Keywords: | Biofilms ESKAPE pathogens FK-16 LL-37 peptide immobilization titanium |
|
|