The World Health Organization has ranked antimicrobial resistance among the top 10 global public health threats. While the development of new antibiotics is more urgent than ever, this Australian team came up with the idea of working from a natural antibiotic peptide, which made the compound less likely to induce antimicrobial resistance. Another originality, priscilicidine is derived from indolicidin, a natural antibiotic present in the immune system of cows.
Named Priscilicidine, the antibiotic is therefore inspired by a type of natural antimicrobial peptide.
These peptides are produced by all living organisms as the first defense against bacteria and viruses. The antibiotic, derived from this natural peptide, is the result of a simple design process of small building blocks of amino acids, which allows it to be produced quickly and inexpensively in the laboratory. This design also allows Priscilicidin molecules to naturally self-assemble into a hydrogel form, making it ideal for creating antibiotic gels and creams.
The research : After reviewing the literature on molecular engineering of antimicrobial peptides, the team designed and tested 20 short peptides before choosing Priscilicidin as the best candidate. While current natural antibiotics are expensive and difficult to manufacture on a large scale, priscilicidin combines the advantages of a small molecular design, which means it is quick and inexpensive to synthesize in the laboratory, with the advantages of natural antibiotics .
- The study confirms the efficacy of priscilicidin against resistant microbial strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli bacteria and candida fungi. Priscilicidin acts by disrupting the membrane of microbes, which ends up killing the cell and, in any case, nullifying any resistance to treatment. Here,
- Priscilicidin demonstrates in vitro antimicrobial activity similar to that of Indolicidin on common bacterial and fungal strains.
- its natural hydrogel form opens the possibility of a whole spectrum of formulations, in particular topical.
It therefore remains to test in vivo, the safety and efficacy of Priscilicidin, according to these different possible modes of administration.
