| Title |
The Activity of a Small Lytic Peptide PTP-7 on Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms |
| Author |
Riddhi Kharidia and Jun F. Liang* |
| Address |
Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, Charles V. Schaefer School of Engineering and Sciences, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 49(4),663-668, 2011,
|
| DOI |
|
| Key Words |
peptide, biofilm, antimicrobial activity, Staphylococcus aureus, bacterial infections |
| Abstract |
One of the most important features of bacterial biofilms is their resistance to antibiotics and to the host
immune system. In this study, we have found that a small lytic peptide, PTP-7, is very potent to Gram-positive
bacteria and is able to kill antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus indiscriminately. Further
studies have revealed that despite being a cationic peptide, the antibacterial activity of PTP-7 was not affected
by the negatively charged extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of biofilms. PTP-7 could diffuse into
the deep layer of S. aureus biofilms to kill bacteria inside biofilms efficiently and effectively. Neither the
high concentrations of metal ions nor the acidic pH in biofilms affected the activity of peptide PTP-7. It
seems that the unique sequence/structure together with the resistant bacteria killing ability of peptide PTP-7
confers its anti-biofilm activity. This study sheds new light on the treatment of bacterial biofilms, especially
various biofilm related infections. |
