[Design, screening and antimicrobial activity of novel peptides against Streptococcus mutans]

To construct antimicrobial peptides with potent antimicrobial activity, low cytotoxicity and efficient killing rate of Streptococcus mutans for prevention and treatment of dental caries.

We exploited the existing design strategies to modify reutericin 6 or gassericin A produced by Lactobacillus species in the oral cavity based on their cationicity, amphipathicity and α-helical structure. We examined their antimicrobial activities using bacterial susceptibility assay, their cytotoxicity through cytotoxicity assay and their killing rate of Streptococcus mutans with time-kill assay. We further evaluated the candidate derivatives for their killing rate against Streptococcus mutans, their antimicrobial activity against different oral pathogens and the development of drug resistance.

We constructed 6 AT-1 derivatives, among which AT-7 showed an MIC of 3.3 μmol/L against Streptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinomyces viscosus with a killing rate of 88.7% against Streptococcus mutans within 5 min. We did not obtain de novo strains of Streptococcus mutans resistant to AT- 7 after induction for 10 passages.

Hydrophobicity and imperfect amphipathic structure are two key parameters that define the antimicrobial potency of the antimicrobial peptides. The imperfectly amphipathic peptide AT-7 shows the potential for clinical application in dental caries treatment.