Recombinant HNP-1 Produced by Escherichia coli Triggers Bacterial Apoptosis and Exhibits Antibacterial Activity against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

作者：Qi Xie, Yin Wang, Mengmeng Zhang, Shujia Wu, Wei Wei, Weidi Xiao, Yihao Wang, Jinchao Zhao, Nan Liu, Yiguang Jin, Junzhu Wu, Ping Xu · 发表于：Microbiology Spectrum · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1128/spectrum.00860-21 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities、Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior、RNA Interference and Gene Delivery

Human neutrophil peptide-1 (HNP-1) is a promising antibiotic candidate, but its clinical application has been hampered by the difficulty of mass production and an inadequate understanding of its bactericidal mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrated that recombinant protein expression combined with ultrafiltration may be a simple and cost-effective solution to HNP-1 production. We further found that HNP-1 induces bacterial apoptosis and prevents its SOS repair pathway from binding to the RecA protein, which may be a new antibacterial mechanism. In addition, we showed that HNP-1 encapsulated in liposomes inhibits the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and meropenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA). These results provide new insights into the production and antibacterial mechanism of HNP-1, both of which may promote its clinical application.