The α-Helical Antibacterial Peptides Derived from Mastoparan with Broad-Spectrum Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics resulted in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. As a promising solution, antimicrobial peptides have attracted much attention. In this research, a series of peptides derived from MP9 through the substitution of tryptophan for alanine and the rearrangement of amino acid residues were designed and synthesized. MP9-10 displayed the highest anti-multidrug-resistant bacterial activity and the lowest cytotoxicity as well as hemolysis among all the derivates. Membrane disruption was the main mechanism for MP9-10 to kill bacteria. The <i>in vivo</i> results on mice also demonstrated that MP9-10 had the capacity to treat infections caused by <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteria. In summary, MP9-10 is a promising candidate for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.