Antimicrobial Peptides with pH-Dependent Activity and Alkaline Optima: Their Origins, Mechanisms of Action and Potential Applications

Journal article

Phoenix, D.A., Harris, F. and Dennison, S. (2021). Antimicrobial Peptides with pH-Dependent Activity and Alkaline Optima: Their Origins, Mechanisms of Action and Potential Applications. Current Protein & Peptide Science. 22 (11), pp. 775-799. https://doi.org/10.2174/1389203722666210728105451
AuthorsPhoenix, D.A., Harris, F. and Dennison, S.
Abstract: A number of disorders and diseases are associated with conditions of high pH, and many conventional antibiotics lose their efficacy under these pH conditions, generating a need for novel antimicrobials. A potential solution to fulfill this need is Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) with high pH optima. This review shows that a variety of anionic and cationic AMPs with this pH dependency are produced by creatures across the eukaryotic kingdom, including rabbits, cattle, sheep, fish, crabs and frog. These AMPs exhibit activity against viruses, bacteria, and fungi that involve membrane interactions and appear to be facilitated by a variety of mechanisms that generally promote passage across membranes to attack intracellular targets, such as DNA or protein synthesisand/or membrane lysis. Some of these mechanisms are unknown, but those elucidated include the use of bacterial pores and transporters, the self-promoted uptake pathway, and established models of membrane interaction, such as the carpet mechanism, toroidal pore formation, the adoption of tilted peptide, and the SHM model. A variety of potential roles have been proposed for these AMPs, including use as antivirals, antibacterials, antifungals, adjuvants to antimicrobial therapy, biomarkers of disease, and probes for pathogenic microbes. In this review, these properties are described and discussed, emphasizing the antimicrobial mechanisms used by these AMPs and the pH dependency of these mechanisms.
KeywordsCell Biology; Molecular Biology; Biochemistry; General Medicine
Year2021
JournalCurrent Protein & Peptide Science
Journal citation22 (11), pp. 775-799
PublisherBentham Science Publishers
ISSN1389-2037
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.2174/1389203722666210728105451
Publication dates
Print28 Jul 2021
Online27 Jul 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted10 Apr 2021
Deposited15 Oct 2021
Accepted author manuscript
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File Access Level
Open
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The published manuscript is available at EurekaSelect via http://www.eurekaselect.com/10.2174/1389203722666210728105451

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