In Vivo, In Vitro, and In Silico Characterization of Peptoids as Antimicrobial Agents

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 5;11(2):e0135961. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135961. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics is a global threat that has spurred the development of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their mimetics as novel anti-infective agents. While the bioavailability of AMPs is often reduced due to protease activity, the non-natural structure of AMP mimetics renders them robust to proteolytic degradation, thus offering a distinct advantage for their clinical application. We explore the therapeutic potential of N-substituted glycines, or peptoids, as AMP mimics using a multi-faceted approach that includes in silico, in vitro, and in vivo techniques. We report a new QSAR model that we developed based on 27 diverse peptoid sequences, which accurately correlates antimicrobial peptoid structure with antimicrobial activity. We have identified a number of peptoids that have potent, broad-spectrum in vitro activity against multi-drug resistant bacterial strains. Lastly, using a murine model of invasive S. aureus infection, we demonstrate that one of the best candidate peptoids at 4 mg/kg significantly reduces with a two-log order the bacterial counts compared with saline-treated controls. Taken together, our results demonstrate the promising therapeutic potential of peptoids as antimicrobial agents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry*
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / chemistry
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
  • Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Molecular Structure
  • Peptoids / chemistry*
  • Peptoids / pharmacology*
  • Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Peptoids