Liu Lihong, Xu Kaijin, Wang Huaying, Tan P K Jeremy, Fan Weimin, Venkatraman Subbu S, Li Lanjuan, Yang Yi-Yan
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, Singapore 138669, Singapore.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2009 Jul;4(7):457-63. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2009.153. Epub 2009 Jun 28.
Antimicrobial cationic peptides are of interest because they can combat multi-drug-resistant microbes. Most peptides form alpha-helices or beta-sheet-like structures that can insert into and subsequently disintegrate negatively charged bacterial cell surfaces. Here, we show that a novel class of core-shell nanoparticles formed by self-assembly of an amphiphilic peptide have strong antimicrobial properties against a range of bacteria, yeasts and fungi. The nanoparticles show a high therapeutic index against Staphylococcus aureus infection in mice and are more potent than their unassembled peptide counterparts. Using Staphylococcus aureus-infected meningitis rabbits, we show that the nanoparticles can cross the blood-brain barrier and suppress bacterial growth in infected brains. Taken together, these nanoparticles are promising antimicrobial agents that can be used to treat brain infections and other infectious diseases.
抗菌阳离子肽备受关注，因为它们能够对抗多重耐药微生物。大多数肽会形成α螺旋或β折叠样结构，这些结构能够插入带负电荷的细菌细胞表面并使其解体。在此，我们表明一类由两亲性肽自组装形成的新型核壳纳米颗粒对一系列细菌、酵母和真菌具有强大的抗菌特性。这些纳米颗粒对小鼠金黄色葡萄球菌感染显示出高治疗指数，并且比未组装的肽对应物更有效。利用感染金黄色葡萄球菌的脑膜炎兔，我们表明纳米颗粒能够穿过血脑屏障并抑制感染大脑中的细菌生长。综上所述，这些纳米颗粒是有前景的抗菌剂，可用于治疗脑部感染和其他传染病。
