Preparation and evaluation of antibacterial properties of Pexiganan, a Magainin analogue with Broadly-Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity

Abstract

Introduction: Pexiganan is one of the most popular Maganin-2 analogues, which has broadly- spectrum bactericidal effects against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In this study, the effects of temperature, pH, and in vitro resistant analysis were evaluated on the antibacterial activity of this peptide. Materials and Methods: Pexiganan recombinant was expressed in P. pastoris GS115, and after its characterization, the cell cytotoxicity characteristics, effects of temperature on antibacterial activity, as well as the emergence of resistance to pexiganan in continuous sub-cultures and MIC of this peptide were investigated against 12 bacterial pathogens. Results: Pexiganan was not cytotoxic to HeLa cell lines. Increasing the temperature had no effect on the zone of inhibition, but increasing the pH caused a significant increase in MIC against S. aureus ATCC 29213 strain. In addition, Pexiganan had inhibitory properties against all the 12 human pathogens (MIC range: 1-32 /g / ml), and no resistance was observed even after 28 sub- cultures. Conclusion: Pexiganan is an AMP with antimicrobial properties against a wide range of susceptible and drug-resistant human pathogens with a very low rate of resistance compared to available antibiotics and is a reliable candidate for further investigation on therapeutic applications. Keywords: Pexiganan; Antimicrobial Peptides; Resistance; Minimum Inhibitory Concentration