The Antimicrobial Effect Against Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria of the SK4 Peptide: A Novel Hybrid Peptide of Cecropin-A and BMAP-27.

Background: Antibiotic-resistant is considered one of the critical health challenges in the management of infectious diseases. Resistant bacterial strains to different antibacterial agents have been spread worldwide. Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs), also called host defense peptides, have a broad spectrum of activity and targeting even to multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, therefore, they have been extensively studied and developed as novel therapeutic antibacterial agents.

Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity of AamAP1-Lysine, a Novel Synthetic Peptide Analog Derived from the Scorpion Venom Peptide AamAP1.

There is great interest in the development of antimicrobial peptides as a potentially novel class of antimicrobial agents. Several structural determinants are responsible for the antimicrobial and cytolytic activity of antimicrobial peptides. In our study, a new synthetic peptide analog, AamAP1-Lysine from the naturally occurring scorpion venom antimicrobial peptide AamAP1, was designed by modifying the parent peptide in order to increase the positive charge and optimize other physico-chemical parameters involved in antimicrobial activity.