The promise of antimicrobial peptides

The promise of antimicrobial peptides Brian P. Lazzaro, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor at Cornell University, highlights the promise of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as powerful agents in the ongoing battle against antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural antibiotics that provide frontline defence against bacterial infection. They are continuously present in wet mucosal surfaces, such as those of the lungs and gut, and the presence of pathogens significantly upregulates their production. AMPs are generally effective at micromolar concentrations and exhibit pharmacodynamic properties that reduce the evolution of resistance in target microbes, making them attractive for development as therapeutics and surface antiseptics. Furthermore, they can synergize with conventional antibiotics, raising the prospect that antibiotics which have been lost to resistance could be resurrected.