Lysine Stapling Screening Provides Stable and Low Toxic Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides Combating Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria In Vitro and In Vivo

J Med Chem. 2022 Jan 13;65(1):579-591. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01754. Epub 2021 Dec 30.

Abstract

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) are promising for treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria-caused infections. However, clinical application of CAMPs has been hampered mostly due to their poor proteolytic stability and hemolytic toxicity. Recently, lysine-stapled CAMPs developed by us had been proved to increase peptide stability in vitro without induction of hemolysis. Herein, the applicability of the lysine stapling strategy was further explored by using five natural or artificial CAMPs as model peptides. Lysine stapling screening was implemented to provide 13 cyclic analogues in total. Biological screening of these cyclic analogues showed that CAMPs with a better amphiphilic structure were inclined to exhibit improved antimicrobial activity, protease stability, and biocompatibility after lysine-stapling. One of the stapled analogues of BF15-a1 was found to have extended half-life in plasma, enhanced antimicrobial activity against clinically isolated MDR ESKAPE pathogens, and remained highly effective in combating MRSA infection in a mouse model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / chemical synthesis*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / therapeutic use
  • Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • Female
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Hemolysis / drug effects
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Lysine / chemistry*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests

Substances

  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Lysine