Baltzer Sylvia A, Brown Melissa H
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, S.A., Australia.
J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011;20(4):228-35. doi: 10.1159/000331009. Epub 2011 Sep 2.
Antimicrobial peptides (APs) have been described as evolutionary ancient weapons. Produced by a wide variety of organisms as part of a non-specific immune response, these peptides are involved in the direct destruction of various microorganisms. Several APs have been shown to have broad activity spectra against microorganisms such as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, enveloped viruses, fungi and parasites. Given that resistance to a number of antibiotics has developed in a wide range of microbes, the potential of APs as novel therapeutic agents is being evaluated. However, optimisation of APs designed for therapy will need to focus on such factors as their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation and reduction of toxicity to mammalian cells. Strict guidelines pertaining to their use should also be established to prevent or hinder future development of bacterial resistance to such peptides.
抗菌肽（APs）被认为是进化上古老的武器。作为非特异性免疫反应的一部分，多种生物都会产生这些肽，它们参与对各种微生物的直接破坏。已显示几种抗菌肽对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌、包膜病毒、真菌和寄生虫等微生物具有广泛的活性谱。鉴于多种微生物已对多种抗生素产生耐药性，抗菌肽作为新型治疗剂的潜力正在得到评估。然而，设计用于治疗的抗菌肽的优化需要关注其对蛋白水解降解的敏感性以及对哺乳动物细胞毒性降低等因素。还应制定关于其使用的严格指南，以防止或阻碍细菌对这类肽产生耐药性的未来发展。
