365
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
S. Sugathan et al. (eds.), Bioresources and Bioprocess in Biotechnology,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4284-3_15
S.M. Thayil (*) • A.K. Kesavan
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar, Punjab 143005, India
e-mail: smthayil@yahoo.com; akesav@gmail.com
15
Antimycobacterial Peptides
Seema Madhumal Thayil and Anup Kumar Kesavan
Abstract
One third of the world population is infected latently with tuberculosis, a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Ten percent of this
latent infection may lead to active TB. With the advent of drug resistance against
conventional antibiotics, there is an urgent need for new therapeutics that can
target and treat tuberculosis, especially multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and
extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Antimycobacterial peptides, having low
immunogenicity, high affinity to bacterial cell envelopes and diverse mode of
action, have shown to be promising candidates in this regard. Some of the challenges faced by these peptides include difficulty in delivery to the target sites
traversing the unique mycobacterial cell wall, stability of the peptides at physiological conditions and degradation by cytoplasmic proteases. This chapter will
discuss the structure, composition, isolation and mode of synthesis of potential
antimycobacterial peptides isolated from various sources as well as the methods
used to overcome some of the challenges in delivery and bioavailability.
Keywords
Antimycobacterial Peptides • AMPs • Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
S. Sugathan et al. (eds.), Bioresources and Bioprocess in Biotechnology,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4284-3_15
S.M. Thayil (*) • A.K. Kesavan
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar, Punjab 143005, India
e-mail: smthayil@yahoo.com; akesav@gmail.com
15
Antimycobacterial Peptides
Seema Madhumal Thayil and Anup Kumar Kesavan
Abstract
One third of the world population is infected latently with tuberculosis, a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Ten percent of this
latent infection may lead to active TB. With the advent of drug resistance against
conventional antibiotics, there is an urgent need for new therapeutics that can
target and treat tuberculosis, especially multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and
extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Antimycobacterial peptides, having low
immunogenicity, high affinity to bacterial cell envelopes and diverse mode of
action, have shown to be promising candidates in this regard. Some of the challenges faced by these peptides include difficulty in delivery to the target sites
traversing the unique mycobacterial cell wall, stability of the peptides at physiological conditions and degradation by cytoplasmic proteases. This chapter will
discuss the structure, composition, isolation and mode of synthesis of potential
antimycobacterial peptides isolated from various sources as well as the methods
used to overcome some of the challenges in delivery and bioavailability.
Keywords
Antimycobacterial Peptides • AMPs • Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis