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Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents

The increasing frequency of multi-drug resistant microorganisms has driven research into alternative therapeutic strategies. In this respect, natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) hold much promise as candidates for the development of novel antibiotics. However, AMPs have some intrinsic drawbacks, s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lombardi, Lisa, Maisetta, Giuseppantonio, Batoni, Giovanna, Tavanti, Arianna
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6272296/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25867823
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules20046319
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author Lombardi, Lisa
Maisetta, Giuseppantonio
Batoni, Giovanna
Tavanti, Arianna
author_facet Lombardi, Lisa
Maisetta, Giuseppantonio
Batoni, Giovanna
Tavanti, Arianna
author_sort Lombardi, Lisa
collection PubMed
description The increasing frequency of multi-drug resistant microorganisms has driven research into alternative therapeutic strategies. In this respect, natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) hold much promise as candidates for the development of novel antibiotics. However, AMPs have some intrinsic drawbacks, such as partial degradation by host proteases or inhibition by host body fluid composition, potential toxicity, and high production costs. This review focuses on the hepcidins, which are peptides produced by the human liver with a known role in iron homeostasis, as well by numerous other organisms (including fish, reptiles, other mammals), and their potential as antibacterial and antifungal agents. Interestingly, the antimicrobial properties of human hepcidins are enhanced at acidic pH, rendering these peptides appealing for the design of new drugs targeting infections that occur in body areas with acidic physiological pH. This review not only considers current research on the direct killing activity of these peptides, but evaluates the potential application of these molecules as coating agents preventing biofilm formation and critically assesses technical obstacles preventing their therapeutic application.
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spelling pubmed-62722962018-12-03 Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents Lombardi, Lisa Maisetta, Giuseppantonio Batoni, Giovanna Tavanti, Arianna Molecules Review The increasing frequency of multi-drug resistant microorganisms has driven research into alternative therapeutic strategies. In this respect, natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) hold much promise as candidates for the development of novel antibiotics. However, AMPs have some intrinsic drawbacks, such as partial degradation by host proteases or inhibition by host body fluid composition, potential toxicity, and high production costs. This review focuses on the hepcidins, which are peptides produced by the human liver with a known role in iron homeostasis, as well by numerous other organisms (including fish, reptiles, other mammals), and their potential as antibacterial and antifungal agents. Interestingly, the antimicrobial properties of human hepcidins are enhanced at acidic pH, rendering these peptides appealing for the design of new drugs targeting infections that occur in body areas with acidic physiological pH. This review not only considers current research on the direct killing activity of these peptides, but evaluates the potential application of these molecules as coating agents preventing biofilm formation and critically assesses technical obstacles preventing their therapeutic application. MDPI 2015-04-10 /pmc/articles/PMC6272296/ /pubmed/25867823 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules20046319 Text en © 2015 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Lombardi, Lisa
Maisetta, Giuseppantonio
Batoni, Giovanna
Tavanti, Arianna
Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title_full Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title_fullStr Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title_full_unstemmed Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title_short Insights into the Antimicrobial Properties of Hepcidins: Advantages and Drawbacks as Potential Therapeutic Agents
title_sort insights into the antimicrobial properties of hepcidins: advantages and drawbacks as potential therapeutic agents
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6272296/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25867823
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules20046319
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