Vet World Vol.17 June-2024 Article - 9
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(6): 1259-1264
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1259-1264
Developing antibacterial peptides as a promising therapy for combating antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections
2. Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Middle East University, Amman, 11831, Jordan.
Background and Aim: Antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa poses a serious health threat. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of peptide KW-23 against drug-resistant P. aeruginosa and its potential for enhancing the efficacy of conventional antibiotics.
Materials and Methods: KW-23 was synthesized from nine amino acids, specifically three tryptophans and three lysines. The purity of the substance was analyzed using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The peptide was identified through mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of KW-23 in combination with conventional antibiotics against control and multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa were determined utilizing broth microdilution. The erythrocyte hemolytic assay was used to measure toxicity. The KW-23 effect was analyzed using the time-kill curve.
Results: The peptide exhibited strong antibacterial activity against control and multidrug-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa, with MICs of 4.5 μg/mL and 20 μg/mL, respectively. At higher concentration of 100 μg/mL, KW-23 exhibited a low hemolytic impact, causing no more than 3% damage to red blood. The cytotoxicity assay demonstrates KW-23’s safety, while the time-kill curve highlights its rapid and sustained antibacterial activity. The combination of KW-23 and gentamicin exhibited synergistic activity against both susceptible and resistant P. aeruginosa, with fractional inhibitory concentration index values of 0.07 and 0.27, respectively.
Conclusion: The KW-23 synthesized in the laboratory significantly combats antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa. Due to its strong antibacterial properties and low toxicity to cells, KW-23 is a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics in combating multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, peptides, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, synergism.
How to cite this article: Darwish RM and Salama AH (2024) Developing antibacterial peptides as a promising therapy for combating antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, Veterinary World, 17(6): 1259-1264.
Received: 2024-03-09 Accepted: 2024-05-17 Published online: 2024-06-08
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1259-1264
Copyright: Darwish, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
