Antimicrobial Peptides: Challenges and Future Perspectives covers the latest developments about antimicrobial peptides in the scenario of drug resistance. The book is divided into 16 chapters arranged in sequence and preceded by chapters on historical developments and their role as regulatory molecules in innate defense mechanism. Emphasis is given to purification techniques and characterization suitable for interdisciplinary research. Chapters provide an inventory of various antimicrobial peptides, from a diverse array of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, insects, amphibians, plants and mammals. A section on marine ecosystem broadens readers understanding on marine based antimicrobial peptides. Additional sections provide an informative overview on peptides with antiviral properties and those targeting multi-drug resistant bacteria. Recent reports and mechanism on resistance against antimicrobial peptides are also provided, along with key insights into the challenges and future perspectives of peptide drug development. - Emphasizes antimicrobial peptides targeting various human viruses and multidrug resistant bacteria - Written by internationally recognized experts who provide readers with a wide and useful perspective - Provides in-depth resources for undertaking a research work in antimicrobial peptides with the inclusion of chapters on purification techniques and structural details - Addresses the possibility and availability of peptide antibiotics in the global drug market - Serves as a complete resource from the discovery to drug development of peptide antibiotics

This book presents an overview of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), their mechanisms of antimicrobial action, other activities, and various problems that must still be overcome regarding their clinical application. Divided into four major parts, the book begins with a general overview of AMPs (Part I), and subsequently discusses the various mechanisms of antimicrobial action and methods for researching them (Part 2). It then addresses a range of activities other than antimicrobial action, such as cell penetration, antisepsis, anticancer, and immunomodulatory activities (Part 3), and explores the prospects of clinical application from various standpoints such as the selective toxicity, design, and discovery of AMPs (Part 4). A huge number of AMPs have been discovered in plants, insects, and vertebrates including humans, and constitute host defense systems against invading pathogenic microorganisms. Consequently, many attempts have been made to utilize AMPs as antibiotics. AMPs could help to solve the urgent problem of drug-resistant bacteria, and are also promising with regard to sepsis and cancer therapy. Gathering a wealth of information, this book will be a bible for all those seeking to develop antibiotics, anti-sepsis, or anticancer agents based on AMPs.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have attracted extensive research attention worldwide. Harnessing and creating AMPs synthetically has the potential to help overcome increasing antibiotic resistance in many pathogens. This new edition lays the foundations for studying AMPs, including a discovery timeline, terminology, nomenclature and classifications. It covers current advances in AMP research and examines state-of-the-art technologies such as bioinformatics, combinatorial libraries, high-throughput screening, database-guided identification, genomics and proteomics-based prediction, and structure-based design of AMPs. Thoroughly updated and revised, this second edition contains new content covering: defensins; cathelicidins; anti-MRSA, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer and antibiofilm strategies; combined treatments; adjuvants in vaccines; advances in AMP technologies that cover surface coating to prevent biofilm formation; nanofiber encapsulation technologies for delivery and sustained release; and understanding innate immunity and the basis for immune boosting to overcome obstacles in developing AMPs into therapeutic agents. Written and reviewed by a group of established investigators in the field, Antimicrobial Peptides is a valuable resource for postgraduate students, researchers, educators, and medical and industrial personnel.

Modern medicine is impossible without antibiotics, but global antibiotic usage has led to the development of increasing numbers of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. Thus, we still have problems with infectious disease treatment despite an arsenal of antibiotics. This has forced researchers to develop new drugs that will be effective against resistant bacteria. Some of these prospective molecules are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are an important component of the innate immune system of various organisms in nature. Currently, more than 3,000 AMPs have been reported with different activities against different bacterial species including resistant phenotype bacteria. AMPs display remarkable structural and functional diversity that is not completely understood. As such, this book presents a comprehensive overview of AMPs and their mechanism of action against MDR bacteria.

The book will provide an overview of the advancement of fundamental knowledge and applications of antimicrobial peptides in biomedical, agricultural, veterinary, food, and cosmetic products. Antimicrobial peptides stand as potentially great alternatives to current antibiotics, and most research in this newly-created area has been published in journals and other periodicals. It is the editors’ opinion that it is timely to sum up the most important achievements in the field and provide the scientific community in a reference book. The goals of this project include illustrating the achievements made so far, debating the state of the art, and drawing new perspectives.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Identification and Characterization of Antimicrobial Peptides with Therapeutic Potential" that was published in Pharmaceuticals

Antimicrobial peptides have been the subject of intense research in the past decades, and are now considered as an essential part of the defense system in bacteria, plants, animals and humans. his book provides an update on these effector molecules of the innate immune system both for researchers who are already actively involved in the area, and for those with a general interest in the topic. The book starts with an overview of the evolution of cysteine-containing antimicrobial peptides (including defensins), and the role of these peptides in host defense in plants and micro-organisms. The realization that antimicrobial peptides also display functions distinct from their direct antimicrobial action is the focus of the next chapters, and puts these peptides center stage in immunity and wound repair. Further chapters discuss the role of antimicrobial peptides in disease, by providing an overview of mechanisms in bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides and a discussion of their role in inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Finally, the book shows how knowledge of the function of antimicrobial peptides and their regulation can be used to design new therapies for inflammatory and infectious disorders. This is a very important area of research because of the increase in resistance of micro-organisms to conventional antibiotics. Therefore the use of synthetic or recombinant peptides, or agents that stimulate the endogenous production of antimicrobial peptides, provides an attractive alternative for conventional antibiotics.

Microbes are in our midst soon after birth. Thankfully, the number of harmless (and often beneficial) microbes far outnumber those that would do us harm. Our ability to ward-off pathogens in our environment, including those that can colonize our exterior and/or interior surfaces, depends on the integrative action of the innate and adaptive immunity systems. This volume of CTMI, entitled Antimicrobial Peptides and Human Disease, is dedicated to the role of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the innate host defense system of homo sapiens.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent an ancient group of molecules with diverse functions in innate immunity. To date, more than 1000 naturally-occurring AMPs have been identified which display considerable diversity in their primary sequences, lengths, structures and biological activities. Despite this variability, AMPs are broadly classified according to homologous secondary structures as cathelicidins (linear a-helical peptides), defensins (ß-strand peptides connected by disulfide bonds) and bactenecins (loop peptides). Most, but not all, AMPs are cationic with amphipathic faces. These biochemical properties bestow many peptides with potent antimicrobial activity by facilitating interactions with negatively charged microbial cell membrane components, thereby increasing membrane permeability and resulting in microbial death. Other indirect effects on microbial physiology have been reported including inhibition of DNA/RNA synthesis, impaired protein synthesis and folding, disruption of cell wall formation and inhibition of microbial cell metabolism. Thus, with the spread of antibiotic-resistant microbial pathogens, AMPs have emerged as exciting candidates for next generation anti-infective therapies. However, recent studies suggest that AMPs have evolved other mechanisms of pathogen clearance. Immunomodulation is a novel approach to antimicrobial therapy that centres on boosting host immunity rather than direct microbial killing. This is also an attractive means to treat sepsis and other immune-mediated diseases. Whilst several cationic peptides are under investigation as antimicrobial agents, a select few show a remarkable ability to protect against lethal endotoxaemia and clinically-relevant bacterial infections including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The molecular mechanisms responsible for this protection are only beginning to emerge but include prevention of innate cell activation by targeting key stages of bacterial endotoxin-mediated cell signalling. In this research topic, hosted by Frontiers in Molecular Innate Immunity, we aim to highlight key areas of AMP research including peptide diversity, structure-function relationships, antimicrobial activity and mechanisms of immune-modulation. We also aim to stimulate discussion on the emerging therapeutic potential of AMPs including antifungal, antiviral and anticancer applications.