Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity and Mode of Action of Magainin 2 against Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Oct 5;19(10):3041. doi: 10.3390/ijms19103041.

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising therapeutic agents for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Previous studies showed that magainin 2 (isolated from African clawed fogs Xenopus laevis) has antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The present study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of magainin 2 against Acinetobacter baumannii. Magainin 2 showed excellent antibacterial activity against A. baumannii strains and high stability at physiological salt concentrations. This peptide was not cytotoxic towards HaCaT cells and showed no hemolytic activity. Biofilm inhibition and elimination were significantly induced in all A. baumannii strains exposed to magainin 2. We confirmed the mechanism of magainin 2 on the bacterial outer and inner membranes. Collectively, these results suggest that magainin 2 is an effective antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent against A. baumannii strains.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; antibiofilm activity; antimicrobial peptide; multidrug-resistant; physiological salt.

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter baumannii / drug effects*
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / isolation & purification
  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Biofilms / drug effects*
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • Erythrocytes / drug effects
  • Hemolysis / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Magainins / pharmacology*
  • Mice
  • Xenopus Proteins / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Magainins
  • Xenopus Proteins
  • magainin 2 peptide, Xenopus