Assessing the potential of the two-peptide lantibiotic lichenicidin as a new generation antimicrobial

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2022-01, Vol.38 (1), p.18-18, Article 18
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Joana C., Silva, Ítala C., Caetano, Tânia, Mösker, Eva, Seidel, Maria, Lourenço, Joana, Süssmuth, Roderich D., Santos, Nuno C., Gonçalves, Sónia, Mendo, Sónia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial peptides; Antimicrobial Peptides - isolation & purification; Antimicrobial Peptides - pharmacology; Applied Microbiology; Bacteria - drug effects; Bacterial Infections - drug therapy; Bacteriocins - chemistry; Bacteriocins - isolation & purification; Bacteriocins - pharmacology; Biochemistry; Biocompatibility; Biological activity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cell Line; Cytotoxicity; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug resistance; Drug Synergism; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Erythrocytes; Evaluation; Fibroblasts; Fibroblasts - drug effects; Hemolysis; Humans; Lantibiotics; Life Sciences; Lysis; Methicillin; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Minimum inhibitory concentration; Original Paper; Peptides; Peptides - pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus; Toxicity
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03196-y

Lantibiotics are a promising class of natural antimicrobial peptides. Lichenicidin is a two-peptide lantibiotic in which two mature peptides act synergistically to exhibit full bioactivity. Considering the two-peptide lantibiotics described so far, only cytolysin has been deeply characterized in terms of toxicity towards eukaryotic cells and it was found to be hemolytic and cytotoxic. This work aimed to improve the production of lichenicidin in vivo and characterize its antibacterial activity and toxicity against human cells. Peptides were purified and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined against several strains; a time-kill assay was performed with Staphylococcus aureus . The hemolytic effect of lichenicidin was evaluated on blood samples from healthy donors and its toxicity towards human fibroblasts. The quantity of purified peptides was 1 mg/l Bliα and 0.4 mg/l Bliβ. MIC for methicillin-sensitive and resistant S. aureus (MSSA and MRSA) strains were 16–32 µg/ml and 64–128 µg/ml, respectively. At the MIC, lichenicidin took less than 3 h to eliminate MSSA, indicating a strong bactericidal effect. It induces cell lysis at the highest concentration, an effect that might be potentiated by Bliβ. Lichenicidin was not cytotoxic to human erythrocytes and fibroblasts. In this work, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of lichenicidin as a possible antimicrobial alternative. Graphical Abstract