Mechanism of Antimicrobial Peptides: Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory and Antibiofilm Activities

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 21; p. 11401
• Main Authors: Luo, Ying, Song, Yuzhu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - metabolism; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - pharmacology; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - physiology; Antimicrobial Peptides - metabolism; Antimicrobial Peptides - pharmacology; Antimicrobial Peptides - physiology; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Biofilms - drug effects; Cancer; Cell cycle; Cell Membrane - drug effects; Cell Wall - drug effects; Drug resistance; Endocytosis - drug effects; Immune system; Lipids; Medical research; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Nosocomial infections; Pathogens; Peptides; Review; anti-inflammatory; mechanism of action; antimicrobial; antibiofilm; antimicrobial peptides
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111401

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are regarded as a new generation of antibiotics. Besides antimicrobial activity, AMPs also have antibiofilm, immune-regulatory, and other activities. Exploring the mechanism of action of AMPs may help in the modification and development of AMPs. Many studies were conducted on the mechanism of AMPs. The present review mainly summarizes the research status on the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antibiofilm properties of AMPs. This study not only describes the mechanism of cell wall action and membrane-targeting action but also includes the transmembrane mechanism of intracellular action and intracellular action targets. It also discusses the dual mechanism of action reported by a large number of investigations. Antibiofilm and anti-inflammatory mechanisms were described based on the formation of biofilms and inflammation. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the multiple activities and coordination of AMPs in vivo, and to fully understand AMPs to realize their therapeutic prospect.