Antimicrobial peptides against drug resistant Mycobacterium abscessus

Mycobacterium abscessus (MAB) comprise rapidly growing, often multidrug-resistant (MDR), nontuberculous mycobacteria responsible for pulmonary and other infections in susceptible hosts. Antimicrobial peptides (APs) are natural and synthetic antimicrobials active against a range of microorganisms including mycobacteria. We evaluated APs activity against MAB reference and clinical strains. We observed minimal inhibitory concentrations of 1.6 to >50 microg/mL. Further work with the most active AP demonstrated protection of Acanthamoeba castellanii (AC) from killing by ingested MAB including MDR MAB strains. Antimicrobial peptides offer an attractive potential option for treatment of drug resistant treatment-refractory MAB.