Insect antimicrobial peptides: potential weapons to counteract the antibiotic resistance

M. D. Manniello, A. Moretta, R. Salvia, C. Scieuzo, Donatella Lucchetti, H. Vogel, Alessandro Sgambato, P. Falabella

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

Misuse and overuse of antibiotics have contributed in the last decades to a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance which is currently considered one of the principal threats to global public health by the World Health Organization. The aim to find alternative drugs has been demonstrated as a real challenge. Thanks to their biodiversity, insects represent the largest class of organisms in the animal kingdom. The humoral immune response includes the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are released into the insect hemolymph after microbial infection. In this review, we have focused on insect immune responses, particularly on AMP characteristics, their mechanism of action and applications, especially in the biomedical field. Furthermore, we discuss the Toll, Imd, and JAK-STAT pathways that activate genes encoding for the expression of AMPs. Moreover, we focused on strategies to improve insect peptides stability against proteolytic susceptibility such as D-amino acid substitutions, N-terminus modification, cyclization and dimerization.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4259-4282
Number of pages24
JournalCellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Volume78
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Antibacterial peptides
  • Immune system
  • Mechanism of action
  • Resistant bacteria
  • Signaling pathways

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