Francesco M. Labricciosa, MD, Specialist in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health issue. Unfortunately, microorganisms use several mechanisms to inactivate antimicrobials, making ineffective traditional therapies currently employed. Therefore, discovering novel antimicrobial agents is essential to successfully address this global challenge.
In a paper recently published in Antibiotics, a multidisciplinary group of investigators focused on non-antibiotic antimicrobial strategies, particularly on the use of antimicrobial peptides, as potential strategies for managing multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens.
The authors started their narrative review discussing the alternative non-antibiotic approaches for the prevention and control of MDR pathogens, namely bacteriophage therapy, probiotics, immunotherapies, photodynamic therapy, essential oils, nanoparticles, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).
After summarising the benefits and limitations of these different approaches, the authors focused on AMP mimetics and strategies to enhance AMP activity, the mechanisms of action of AMPs, and the reduction in virulence factors by peptidomimetics.
Specific subsections of the paper concerned antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic peptides and their mimetics. Moreover, the authors provided an overview of antimicrobial coatings using AMPs and their relevance in medical settings. Finally, they presented several additional strategies for attachment and functionalization.
AMPs are promising alternative antimicrobial agents to tackle AMR. Although their clinical potential is limited by different challenges, their stability, safety, and efficacy can be enhanced, making them more appropriate for clinical applications.
AMPs and their synthetic mimetics represent a new frontier in antimicrobial coatings against bacterial and viral pathogens. Indeed, they are a precious tool in the fight against infectious diseases, being able to disrupt microbial membranes and prevent pathogen adhesion.
The authors concluded that further research should be performed in the future, focusing on in vivo studies to evaluate both the antimicrobial and anti-virulence efficacy of these molecules.
Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery 