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REVIEW article

Front. Drug Discov.
Sec. Anti-Infective Agents
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fddsv.2024.1440378

Metal-Antimicrobial Peptides combo: promising weapons to combat bacteria invaders

Provisionally accepted
Rosa Bellavita Rosa Bellavita 1,2Lucia Falcigno Lucia Falcigno 2Simone Braccia Simone Braccia 2Gabriella D'Auria Gabriella D'Auria 2Annarita Falanga Annarita Falanga 3Stefania Galdiero Stefania Galdiero 2*
  • 1 University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
  • 2 Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
  • 3 Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Antimicrobial resistance has significantly increased over the last thirty years, prompting scientists to continuously look for novel, effective ways to combat drug-resistant bacteria and fungi. Due to their broad range of effectiveness, ease of synthesis, and ability to avoid resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a potential approach. The direct investigation of metal effects on peptide activity has not received much attention. Divalent metal ions such as Zn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Fe(II) do, in fact, influence some AMPs, producing an effect on their mode of action or function. Although the precise process by which metals are involved in microbial death is not well understood, this review goes into detail on several potential strategies to enhance AMPs activity through the synergy with metals. Important variables in these interactions include the individual peptide sequence, the type of metal ion, the capacity of metal to form chelates, and the softness of the ligand/metal complex. This article offers a thorough summary of the ways in which metal ions alter the structure of AMPs to boost their activity or sequester metal to impact on bacteria function.

    Keywords: transition metal, antimicrobial peptides, Siderophores, coordination, Structural modifications

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 02 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bellavita, Falcigno, Braccia, D'Auria, Falanga and Galdiero. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Stefania Galdiero, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, 80131, Campania, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.