Evaluating the feasibility of lantibiotics as an alternative therapy against bacterial infections in humans

Auke Johan van Heel, Manuel Montalban-Lopez, Oscar P. Kuipers*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialAcademicpeer-review

103 Citations (Scopus)
634 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Since the commercialization and ubiquitous use of antibiotics in the 20th century, there has been a steady increase in the number of reports on resistant bacteria. In recent years, this situation has become even more dramatic. The relatively slow development of new drugs, especially those with novel modes of action on target bacteria, is not paired with the rapid rate of resistance appearance. Lantibiotics form a group of antimicrobial peptides of bacterial origin with a dual mechanism of action not shared by other therapeutic compounds in use. They have a high potency to inhibit diverse (multidrug resistant) bacteria, combined with a low tendency to generate resistance. These properties make lantibiotics attractive candidates for clinical applications. This paper discusses some of the most recent results obtained in lantibiotic clinical application, paying special attention to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties they display. The objective of this paper is to give insight into the actual clinical applicability of lantibiotics and to point to the unexplored aspects that should be addressed in future research. The authors feel that lantibiotics could increase the number of second line antibiotics for systemic use in the future; however, further research is still needed before this is possible.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)675-680
Number of pages6
JournalExpert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology
Volume7
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun-2011

Keywords

  • lantibiotics
  • medical application
  • multidrug resistance
  • novel antibiotics
  • pharmacodynamics
  • pharmacokinetics
  • ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDE NISIN
  • IN-VITRO
  • TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
  • MICROBICIDE NISIN
  • CYSTIC-FIBROSIS
  • MU1140
  • RESISTANCE
  • MOLI1901
  • RATS
  • PHARMACOKINETICS

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