Boman H G
Mikrobiologiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet.
Nord Med. 1996 Jun;111(6):176-9.
In 1981, Steiner and co-workers of Stockholm described a newly discovered type of potent antibacterial peptides which lack cysteine, so called cecropins, which are spiral-formed molecules of 30-40 amino acids found to kill bacteria within a few minutes by disintegration of the bacterial cell wall, but to do no damage to the membrane of insect or mammalian cells. To date, descriptions have been published of about a hundred peptide antibiotics from various mammals (including man), birds, frogs, many types of insects. Peptide antibiotics exert a bacteriostatic effect on the normal flora of the skin and of the oral cavity and other orifices. It is also possible that peptide antibiotics protect us against many pathogenic organisms.
1981年，斯德哥尔摩的施泰纳及其同事描述了一种新发现的强效抗菌肽，这种肽不含半胱氨酸，即所谓的杀菌肽，它们是由30至40个氨基酸组成的螺旋状分子，能在几分钟内通过破坏细菌细胞壁杀死细菌，但对昆虫或哺乳动物细胞的膜没有损害。迄今为止，已经发表了关于来自各种哺乳动物（包括人类）、鸟类、青蛙以及多种昆虫的约一百种肽抗生素的描述。肽抗生素对皮肤、口腔和其他孔窍的正常菌群具有抑菌作用。肽抗生素也有可能保护我们抵御许多致病生物。
