AI Article Synopsis
- The giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps is one of the largest venomous ants and has venom rich in bioactive peptides with antimicrobial properties.
- Two synthetic peptides from this ant, sDq-2562 and sDq-3162, were studied for their effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- The peptide sDq-3162 showed strong bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects, particularly in combination with conventional antibiotics, demonstrating potential as a new treatment strategy against resistant infections.
Article Abstract
The predatory giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps is one of the largest venomous ants on Earth. The venom of D. quadriceps comprises a rich blend of bioactive peptides that includes structures related to at least five classes of antimicrobial peptides. In the present study, two representative synthetic peptides, sDq-2562 and sDq-3162, belonging to the ponericin-like dinoponeratoxin family, were evaluated for their microbicide activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The most effective peptide, the 28-residue sDq-3162 displayed a significant bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between 5 μM and 10 μM (15.6 μg mL and 31.2 μg mL), according to the strain of drug-resistant bacteria tested. In combination with conventional antibiotics, sDq-3162 displayed in vitro synergistic effects, reducing the MICs of antibiotics for more than 2-log against clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with low cytotoxicity to human erythrocytes, in vitro. Since the development of molecules to circumvent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is demanding, ant venom peptides arise as useful molecular resources to contribute with the antimicrobial arsenal and therapeutic strategies to fight clinically relevant microbial infections.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.08.015 | DOI Listing |
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