Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Applications in Biomedical Sector

Abstract

In a report by WHO (2014), it was stated that antimicrobial resistance is an arising challenge that needs to be resolved. This resistance is a critical issue in terms of disease or infection treatment and is usually caused due to mutation, gene transfer, long-term usage or inadequate use of antimicrobials, survival of microbes after consumption of antimicrobials, and the presence of antimicrobials in agricultural feeds. One of the solutions to this problem is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are ubiquitously present in the environment. These peptides are of concern due to their special mode of action against a wide spectrum of infections and health-related problems. The biomedical field has the highest need of AMPs as it possesses prominent desirable activity against HIV-1, skin cancer, breast cancer, in Behcet’s disease treatment, as well as in reducing the release of inflammatory cells such as TNFα, IL-8, and IL-1β, enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and GM-CSF, and in wound healing properties. This review has highlighted all the major functions and applications of AMPs in the biomedical field and concludes the future potential of AMPs.

Prospects and Applications of Natural Blood-Derived Products in Regenerative Medicine

“…In the course of re-epithelialization, cell migration and proliferation are important processes for adequate wound contraction, and some synthetic peptides increased the contraction capacity of human dermal fibroblast cells [ 43 ]. Other peptides can induce the synthesis of ECM components, especially collagen, by stimulating the differentiation of fibroblast to myofibroblast [ 26 ].…”

“…Some peptides enhance re-epithelialization by activating receptor-signaling pathways for cell migration/proliferation (phospholipase C -beta (PLC- β ), EGFR, and phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway). The mechanism of action through EGFR transactivation to promote cell migration has been described both in natural AMPs, such as LL-37 and melittin, and in synthetic peptides [ 26 , 43 , 45 ]. EGFR transactivation is mediated by the cleavage of membrane-bound EGFR ligands by metalloprotease, leading to ERK1/2 phosphorylation or STAT3 phosphorylation and keratinocyte migration and/or proliferation, resulting in the activation of the ERK1/2 pathway, which promotes keratinocyte migration and/or proliferation [ 26 , 43 , 45 ].…”

“…The mechanism of action through EGFR transactivation to promote cell migration has been described both in natural AMPs, such as LL-37 and melittin, and in synthetic peptides [ 26 , 43 , 45 ]. EGFR transactivation is mediated by the cleavage of membrane-bound EGFR ligands by metalloprotease, leading to ERK1/2 phosphorylation or STAT3 phosphorylation and keratinocyte migration and/or proliferation, resulting in the activation of the ERK1/2 pathway, which promotes keratinocyte migration and/or proliferation [ 26 , 43 , 45 ]. The key role of purinergic receptor activation (P2X7 receptor) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in EGFR transactivation has been underlined.…”

“…It is noteworthy that some peptides such as LL-37 promote only cell migration, while others such as melittin stimulate both proliferation and migration. This phenomenon indicated that cell proliferation and migration may be mediated by different mechanisms after EGFR transactivation [ 43 ].…”

“…All these findings clearly indicate that peptides from diverse sources are upregulated at all stages of wound healing, promoting cell migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis, hence the assumption that these peptides markedly contribute to the healing process and thus, show promising application prospects in the field of regenerative medicine [ 43 ].…”