Structure, Interactions, and Assembly of Membrane-Active Antimicrobial Polypeptides.

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as potential antibacterial drugs in the face of rapidly increasing bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics. These peptides target the microbial membrane, and numerous models are used to describe their mechanism of action, causing cell content release and membrane disruption leading to cell death. The interaction between AMPs and target membranes is critical to their specificity and activity. However, a precise understanding of the relationship between AMP structure and their cytolytic function in a range of organisms remains elusive. The challenges in the field reside in the complex nature of AMP interactions with cell membranes, the mechan..