Advancing Antimicrobial Peptides Research

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily conserved molecules essential for innate immunity, functioning both as antimicrobial agents and immune response modulators. Given the escalating problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), AMPs present a potential strategy due to their multi-target action, making it difficult for microbes to develop resistance. While AMPs show promise as alternatives to conventional antibiotics, their clinical use faces challenges, including stability, cytotoxicity, and proteolytic degradation. This project aims to deepen our understanding of blood-derived AMPs by investigating donor-related variability in AMP activity, peptide stability, the effects of blood cell activation on AMP release, and their interactions with the endothelial glycocalyx, heparin-like anticoagulants, and antibiotics.