Current and Potential Applications of Host-Defense Peptides and Proteins in Urology

The use of antibiotics has become increasingly disfavored as more multidrug resistant pathogens are on the rise. A promising alternative to the use of these conventional drugs includes antimicrobial peptides or host-defense peptides. These peptides typically consist of short amino acid chains with a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioMed research international 2015-01, Vol.2015 (2015), p.1-9
Main Authors: Lo, Joey Chor Yee, Lange, Dirk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Amino acids
Animals
Antibiotics
Antimicrobial peptides
Bacteria
Bacterial infections
Disease
Humans
Immune system
Immunity
Kidney stones
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Molecular Sequence Data
Morphology
Nosocomial infections
Peptides
Peptides - chemistry
Peptides - therapeutic use
Physiological aspects
Proteins - chemistry
Proteins - therapeutic use
Review
Urinary tract diseases
Urine
Urogenital system
Urology
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Summary:The use of antibiotics has become increasingly disfavored as more multidrug resistant pathogens are on the rise. A promising alternative to the use of these conventional drugs includes antimicrobial peptides or host-defense peptides. These peptides typically consist of short amino acid chains with a net cationic charge and a substantial portion of hydrophobic residues. They mainly target the bacterial cell membrane but are also capable of translocating through the membrane and target intracellular components, making it difficult for bacteria to gain resistance as multiple essential cellular processes are being targeted. The use of these peptides in the field of biomedical therapies has been examined, and the different approaches to using them under various settings are constantly being discovered. In this review, we discuss the current and potential applications of these host-defense peptides in the field of urology. Besides the use of these peptides as antimicrobial agents, the value of these biological molecules has recently been expanded to their use as antitumor and anti-kidney-stone agents.
ISSN:2314-6133
2314-6141
DOI:10.1155/2015/189016