Editorial Antimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/367243.pdf · Editorial Antimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential Applications

EditorialAntimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential Applications inBiomedical Therapies

Joel E. López-Meza,1 Alejandra Ochoa-Zarzosa,1

José E. Barboza-Corona,2 and Dennis K. Bideshi3,4

1Centro Multidisciplinario de Estudios en Biotecnologıa, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo,km 9.5 Carretera Morelia-Zinapecuaro, 58893 Morelia, MICH, Mexico2Division de Ciencias de la Vida, Departamento de Alimentos, Posgrado en Biociencias, Universidad de Guanajuato,Campus Irapuato-Salamanca, 36500 Irapuato, GTO, Mexico3Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA4California Baptist University, Riverside, CA 92504, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Joel E. Lopez-Meza; [email protected]

Received 18 December 2014; Accepted 18 December 2014

Copyright © 2015 Joel E. Lopez-Meza et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited.

The evolution of pathogenic bacteria has allowed manymicrobes to develop resistance mechanisms against conven-tional antibiotics, leading to the search for new therapeu-tic alternatives. As such, the clinical uses of antimicrobialpeptides (AMPs) are among the most promising alternativeoptions to circumvent the proliferation of antibiotic resistantpathogens. AMPs are produced by a wide variety of organ-isms and have a broad and largely nonspecific activity, a char-acteristic that strongly qualifies them as potent candidatesfor pharmacological applications. Indeed, the continuousdiscovery of newAMP groups in diversemicroorganisms hasexpanded their potential as a new generation of antimicrobialagents for treating bacterial diseases in humans and alsoin animals. Intriguingly, the broad spectrum of biologicalactivities reported for many of these molecules suggests thatAMPs could also be incorporated in integrative regimenstrategies against viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases andcancer, as well as in modulation of the immune system.Thesepossibilities of uses reinforce the importance of studying thebiological and applied properties of AMPs.

The articles contained in the present issue include bothreviews and basic scientific studies focused on characterizingAMPs from different sources to evaluate their numerousbiological activities. This issue comprises the description ofeffects of naturally occurring AMPs from bacteria, plants,

humans, and pigs as well as the effect of synthetic AMPsderived from bovines and humans. In addition, work relatedto the regulation of AMP expression is also included.

AMPs are part of the innate response elicited by most liv-ing forms. In plants, they are produced ubiquitously in roots,seeds, flowers, stems, and leaves, highlighting their physi-ological importance. The contribution by C. E. Salas et al.“Biologically Active andAntimicrobial Peptides fromPlants,”provides an overview of what is currently known about bioac-tive peptides from plants, focusing on their antimicrobialactivity and their role in the plant-signaling network andoffering perspectives on their potential application.

Thewide-ranging functionality ofAMPs against infectionand disease of the urinary tract expands the list of effects be-yond the “antimicrobial effects” originally assigned to them.In the paper by J. Lo and D. Lange “Current and PotentialApplications of Host-Defense Peptides and Proteins in Urol-ogy,” the authors discuss the existing and possible applica-tions of these host-defense peptides in the field of urology.

Transkingdom signaling is a mechanism in which mol-ecules produced by bacteria, such as cyclodipeptides (CDPs),positively or negatively affect the development, growth, ordifferentiation of eukaryotic organisms. The paper by D.Vazquez-Rivera et al. “Cytotoxicity of Cyclodipeptides fromPseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Leads to Apoptosis inHuman

Hindawi Publishing CorporationBioMed Research InternationalVolume 2015, Article ID 367243, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/367243

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Cancer Cell Lines” describes that a CDP mixture promotedapoptosis in cultures of HeLa and Caco-2 cell lines in a dose-dependentmanner, with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC

50)

of 0.53 and 0.66mg/mL, respectively.Bacteriocins are AMPs synthesized by prokaryotes that

inhibit or kill phylogenetically related and/or unrelatedmicroorganisms that share the same microbial niche. Thesepeptides have a potential for diversified use in the foodand pharmaceutical industries, agriculture, and apiculture.In the work by M. F. Leon-Galvan et al. entitled “MolecularDetection and Sensitivity to Antibiotics and Bacteriocins ofPathogens Isolated from Bovine Mastitis in Family DairyHerds of Central Mexico,” the authors showed that bacteri-ocins synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis, a Gram-positivebacterium, inhibited the growth of multiantibiotic resistancebacteria responsible of mastitis, a very important disease inbovines.

The anticancer activity elicited by AMPs has stimulatedintriguing prospects for their use in chemotherapy as cancerremains a cause of high morbidity and mortality worldwideof utmost interest. J. Guzman-Rodrıguez et al. in the paperentitled “Plant Antimicrobial Peptides as Potentials Anti-cancer Agents” provide an overview of plant AMPs (thionins,defensins, and cyclotides) with anticancer activities withparticular emphasis on their mode of action, their selectivity,and their efficacy.

Innate immunity defense is upregulated by antimicrobialpeptide elicitors, which are defined as physical, chemical, andbiological agents that promote upregulation of endogenousAMPs. The paper by L. A. C. Dıaz et al. entitled “AscorbicAcid, Ultraviolet C Rays, and Glucose but Not HyperthermiaAre Elicitors of Human 𝛽-Defensin 1 mRNA in NormalKeratinocytes” investigates the effects of hyperthermia, ultra-violet A rays, and ultraviolet C rays, as well as glucoseand ascorbic acid, on the regulation of human 𝛽-defensin 1(DEFB1), cathelicidin (CAMP), and interferon-𝛾 (IFNG)genes in normal human keratinocytes.

The effects of AMPs on bacteria have been extensivelystudied. However, fewer reports exist regarding their effectson protozoa. The work by J. L. Hernandez-Flores entitled“Effect of Recombinant Prophenin 2 on the Integrity andVia-bility of Trichomonas vaginalis” reports that the propeptideand the processed peptide of prophenin 2 affect the integrityand growth of T. vaginalis and that proprophenin displayssome resistance to proteolysis by T. vaginalis proteinases. Itseffect on T. vaginalis, as well as its low hemolytic activity andshort-time stability to parasite proteinases, makes propheninan interesting candidate for synergistic or alternative treat-ment against T. vaginalis.

The development of novel synthetic analogs of AMPscould enhance their activities, facilitating the development ofnew drugs. In their paper “Antibacterial Activity of SyntheticPeptides Derived from Lactoferricin against Escherichia coliATCC 25922 and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212”, M. A.Leon et al. demonstrate that peptides derived from humanand bovine lactoferricin exhibit higher or similar activityagainstE. coli (MIC 4–33 𝜇M) andE. faecalis (MIC 10–33 𝜇M)compared with lactoferricin protein.Their work shows that it

is possible to design and obtain synthetic peptides that exhibitenhanced antibacterial activity.

The low amount of bacteriocins obtained from directpurification from natural producers and the elevated pro-duction costs of chemical synthesis have stimulated interestsin producing these proteins in heterologous microbial hoststhrough recombinant genetic manipulations. In the paper byS. Arbulu et al. entitled “Cloning and Expression of SyntheticGenes Encoding the Broad Antimicrobial Spectrum Bacteri-ocins SRCAM 602, OR-7, E-760, and L-1077, by RecombinantPichia pastoris”, the authors evaluated the cloning and func-tional expression and production of several broad spectrumbacteriocins in recombinant Pichia pastoris and assayed theseantimicrobials against Listeria monocytogenes CECT4032, E.coliO157:H7,Yersinia ruckeriLMG3279,Campylobacter jejuniATCC33560, and C. jejuni NCTC11168.

We hope that this special issue would shed light on majordevelopments in the area of AMPs and attract attention bythe scientific community to pursue further investigationsleading to the rapid implementation of these molecules inchemotherapeutics.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our appreciation to all the authorsfor their informative contributions and the reviewers for theirsupport and constructive critiques in making this specialissue possible.

Joel E. Lopez-MezaAlejandra Ochoa-ZarzosaJose E. Barboza-Corona

Dennis K. Bideshi

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Editorial Antimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/367243.pdf · Editorial Antimicrobial Peptides: Current and Potential Applications