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Antimicrobial Peptides pp 137–154Cite as

Antimicrobial Peptides: The LPS Connection

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 618)

Abstract

An expanding body of evidence is rendering manifest that many cationic antimicrobial peptides are endowed with different properties and activities, well beyond their direct action on microbes. One of the most interesting and potentially important research avenue on the alternative use of antimicrobial peptides grounds on their affinity toward lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the endotoxin, responsible for the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and related, often fatal, disorders that can follow Gram-negative infections. Indeed, not only do several antimicrobial peptides, such as cathelicidins, display an ability to strongly bind LPS and break its aggregates, but they have also been demonstrated to suppress LPS-induced pro-inflammatory responses in vitro and to protect from sepsis in animal models. Although many aspects still need to be carefully evaluated – some of which are highlighted here – a mix of antimicrobial, LPS-sequestering/neutralization, and immunomodulatory features make cationic peptides, and especially synthetic or semi-synthetic amphiphilic compounds built on their scheme, attractive candidates for novel drugs to be administered in antisepsis therapies. These therapies will probably hinge either on compounds able to intervene at multiple points in the sepsis cascade or on the combination of two or more immunomodulators.

Key words

  • Antimicrobial peptides
  • synthetic peptides
  • LPS
  • endotoxin
  • binding
  • neutralization
  • sepsis
  • septic shock
  • Gram-negative

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is just one of several existing, web-based databases dedicated to AMPs, of either natural or synthetic origin; all of them are currently linked to APD2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Unit, SpiderBiotech S.r.l, Colleretto Giacosa, Italy

    Andrea Giuliani & Giovanna Pirri

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Cittadella Universitaria, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, CA, Italy

    Andrea C. Rinaldi

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  1. Andrea Giuliani
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  2. Giovanna Pirri
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  1. SpiderBiotech S.r.l., Via Ribes 5, Colleretto Giacosa, 10010, Torino, Italy

    Andrea Giuliani

  2. Dipto. Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università di Cagliari, Monserrato, 09042, Italy

    Andrea C. Rinaldi

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Giuliani, A., Pirri, G., Rinaldi, A.C. (2010). Antimicrobial Peptides: The LPS Connection. In: Giuliani, A., Rinaldi, A. (eds) Antimicrobial Peptides. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 618. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-594-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-594-1_10

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