The α-Helical Antibacterial Peptides Derived from Mastoparan with Broad-Spectrum Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics resulted in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. As a promising solution, antimicrobial peptides have attracted much attention. In this research, a series of peptides derived from MP9 through the substitution of tryptophan for alanine and the rearrangement of amino acid residues were designed and synthesized. MP9–10 displayed the highest anti-multidrug-resistant bacterial activity and the lowest cytotoxicity as well as hemolysis among all the derivates. Membrane disruption was the main mechanism for MP9–10 to kill bacteria. The in vivo results on mice also demonstrated that MP9–10 had the capacity to treat infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. In summary, MP9–10 is a promising candidate for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.