Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are essential components of the innate immune system, offering protection against invading pathogenic bacteria. In nature, AMPs serve as antibiotics with broad-spectrum antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties. However, low effective stability in high-salt environments and physiological instability in biological membranes limit the applicability of naturally occurring AMPs as novel therapeutics. We therefore designed short synthetic cationic peptides by substituting key residues in myxinidin, an AMP derived from the epidermal mucus of hagfish, with lysine (Lys, K), arginine (Arg, R), and tryptophan (Trp, W). The resultant myxinidin analogs exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including multidrug-resistant strains, even under high-salt conditions. Moreover, these peptides showed high binding affinity for both lipopolysaccharides and lipoteichoic acids and inhibited biofilm formation by most bacteria, but did not cause significant lysis of human red blood cells and were not cytotoxic to normal human keratinocytes. Circular dichroism analysis revealed that myxinidin and its analogs assumed α-helical or β-sheet structures within artificial liposomes and bacterial membranes. In addition, bacterial killing and membrane permeation experiments demonstrated that the myxinidin analogs permeated through bacterial membranes, leading to cytoplasmic disruption and cell death. Taken together, these findings suggest myxinidin analogs may be promising candidate antibiotic agents for therapeutic application against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The cutaneous inflammation associated with acne vulgaris is caused by the anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes through activation of the innate immune system in the skin. Current standard treatments for acne have limitations that include adverse effects and poor efficacy in many patients, making development of a more effective therapy highly desirable. In the present study, we demonstrate the protective effects of a novel customized α-helical cationic peptide, P5, against P. acnes-induced inflammatory responses in vitro and in vivo. Application of P5 significantly reduced expression of two inflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-α in P. acnes-treated primary human keratinocytes, where P5 appeared to act in part by binding to bacterial lipoteichoic acid, thereby suppressing TLR2-to-NF-κB signaling. In addition, in a mouse model of acne vulgaris, P5 exerted both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects against P. acnes, but exerted no cytotoxic effects against skin cells. These results demonstrate that P5, and perhaps other cationic antimicrobial peptides, offer the unique ability to reduce numbers P. acnes cells in the skin and to inhibit the inflammation they trigger. This suggests these peptides could potentially be used to effectively treat acne without adversely affecting the skin.

Skin wounds are continuously exposed to bacteria and can easily become infected. Infected wounds require antibiotic treatment, and infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are an important public health problem. Antimicrobial peptides have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, induce little or no drug resistance and may be suitable for treating skin infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. We previously reported the design and function of myxinidin and myxinidin analogues. Here we showed that myxinidin2 and myxinidin3 exhibit antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities against antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in high salt environments and in gelatin. Moreover, these peptides facilitated infected wound healing by decreasing inflammation through suppression of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α and regulation of downstream mediators such as STAT3, p38, JNK, and EGFR. In a mouse skin wound model infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, myxinidin2 and myxinidin3 eliminated the infection and enhanced wound healing. We therefore propose the use of these peptides for treating infected wounds and burns.