AUTHOR=Shang Lu , Li Jiawei , Song Chunsheng , Nina Zaytseva , Li Qiuke , Chou Shuli , Wang Zhihua , Shan Anshan 

TITLE=Hybrid Antimicrobial Peptide Targeting Staphylococcus aureus and Displaying Anti-infective Activity in a Murine Model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01767

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01767

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) kill bacteria indiscriminately, increasing the possibility of an ecological imbalance in the microbiota. To solve this problem, new types of AMPs, which kill pathogenic bacteria without breaking the micro-ecological balance of the body, were proposed. Here, we successfully designed a targeting AMP, S2, which is a fusion peptide composed of a species-specific targeting domain and broad-spectrum AMP domain. In the current study, S2 showed specific killing activity against <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>, and almost no resistance induced compared to penicillin. Mechanism studies indicated that S2 killed <italic>S. aureus</italic> by destroying the bacterial membrane. Meanwhile, S2 possessed excellent salt-tolerance properties and biocompatibility. Importantly, S2 exhibited perfect treatment efficacy against an <italic>S. aureus</italic> subcutaneous infection model and remained nontoxic. In conclusion, this study provides a promising strategy for designing specific AMPs against growing bacterial infections.</p>