Antimicrobial peptides

Disruption of the skin by acne inflammation, infection, sun damage, disease, injury due to trauma, surgery, burns, accidents, or by chemical, dermabrasion or laser procedures used for skin renewal, generates a signal to the natural immune system and initiates responses that may or may not be effective in a) preventing an impending invasion from surrounding microbes and b) in triggering the regeneration of new healthy cells to replace those damaged.

Cutaneous defense mechanisms by antimicrobial peptides.

Braff MH , Bardan A , Nizet V , Gallo RL . Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, and VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California, USA.

The skin actively contributes to host defense by mounting an natural immune response that includes the production of antimicrobial peptides. These peptides, which include but are not limited to the cathelicidin and defensin gene families, provide rapid, broad-spectrum defense against infection by acting as natural antibiotics and by participating in host cell processes involved in immune defense. This review discusses the biology and clinical relevance of antimicrobial peptides expressed in the skin. The importance of the epithelial contribution to host immunity is evident, as alterations in antimicrobial peptide expression have been associated with various pathologic processes.

Recent research has led to conclude that the skin itself not only acts as a physical barrier against microorganisms, it also produces peptides which tend to display broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. The skin also produces growth factors, inhibitors of tumors and proteins. Following skin injury or wounds, growth factors are produced to stimulate the regeneration of tissue and to induce the creation of antimicrobial peptides. The growth factor response ceases after regeneration of the tissue, when the physical barrier protecting against microbial infections is re-established.

The body's response to acne, skin infection or injuries may or may not be impaired due to a malfunction of the immune system but when those occur we tend to address the problem with antibiotics and medicines that may have undesired side effects. Below we present an alternative and natural product made with the same biocid and skin regenerating substance a little creature with a skin similar to human skin uses to repair his own body when it has been damaged and is attacked by opportunistic bacteria and microbes.

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Skin infection can also be addressed with BIOSKINCARE CREAM instead of using antibiotics that create bacterial resistance.

The current situation of antibiotic resistant bacteria is creating alarm throughout the medical community. The over-prescription of antibiotics and people not taking the full recommended dosage, has created some super bacteria that are quite deadly because they are resistant to antibiotics. A good example is the new form of pneumonia that usually ends with infected people being placed in an Intensive Care Unit.

So what do we do now? One thing we can do is to look at how humans and other organisms ward off infections. The answer for many of humans infectious problems may lie with antimicrobial peptide antibiotics which have been found to be produced by all living animals tested to date.

Antibacterial activity of snail mucus mucin

Sanae M. M. Iguchi, Takashi Aikawa and Juichiro J. Matsumoto

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University, 7-1, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan

Received 13 November 1981. Available online 21 March 2003.

Abstract

1. 1. An antibacterial activity was found in the mucin obtained from the body surface mucus of the African giant snail, Achatina fulica Férussac.

2. 2. The water soluble fraction (WSF) and the mucin fraction (MF) of the mucus exhibited positive antibacterial activity both for the Gram positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Stuphylococcus aureus, and for the Gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, when assayed by the paper-disc method.

3. 3. When MF was digested with a proteinase (Pronase), the activity was lost, while no changes in the activity was found on treatment with glycosidase. Thus, the antibacterial activity was ascribed to the protein moiety of the snail mucus mucin.

This includes frogs (Journal of Peptide Research - Amphibians, The antibiotic and anticancer active aurein peptides from the Australian Bell Frogs) cows, fish ( Characterization of a Fish Antimicrobial Peptide), pigs Natural antibiotics help aid swine health and food safety, insects Antimicrobial peptides in insects), snails (Antimicrobial peptides in the secretion of land snails ) , snakes, birds and plants. And they are produced by many different tissues and organs of the body, including our skin.

These peptides are thought to punch holes in the membranes of bacteria much like the complement proteins do in our immune system. But what is really exciting about these antimicrobial peptide antibiotic substances is that the target bacterium may not be able to mutate and defend itself against this antibiotic action.

Bacteria have survived for millions of years by developing resistance to new stressors including natural antibiotics like penicillin. What simply happens is that the bacteria, with a high rate of mutation, ends up modifying one or more of its enzymes that are used to break the link between a target protein and the antibiotic. As a result, the antibiotic does not work.

But to adapt to a peptide antibiotic that punches a hole in the cell membrane is a different story. To protect itself, the bacterium would have to change the entire composition of the cell membrane. And to change the composition of a membrane would mean changing many of the enzymes that are responsible for making the complex membrane in the first place.

Peptide antibiotics respond within minutes. Part of the reason for this rapid response is how the peptide acts on the cell membrane. But to destroy a cell, the peptide must also quickly find the bacterial membrane. How does this happen? The answer lies in the construction of the cell membrane.

The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells is much different than the membrane of a prokaryotic cell. Eukaryotic cell membranes are constructed of a phospholipid bilayer and cholesterol. Consequently, these membranes have a low negative electrical charge. On the other hand, a bacterial membrane is made up of fats and sugars. This difference in construction means that bacteria have a high negative electrical charge that quickly attracts the peptide antibiotics.

Peptide antibiotics are effective. In one clinical trial for the treatment of meningitis, a disease that affects 3,000 children a year, a peptide antibiotic not only killed the bacterium which produces the toxin, but it also bound to the toxin preventing the damage the endotoxin produces. This is a promising new venue for research ... and creating effective drugs...

But bringing a drug to clinical trial is time consuming and expensive. It takes $300 million to bring a drug to market. This cost covers every thing from discovery, identification, synthesis and clinical trials. This process may also take 10 or more years to accomplish.

Fortunately we do not have to wait to get the benefits of antimicrobial peptides when fighting acne or skin injuries, for they can be addressed with the peptides and proteins contained in the mucin of certain species of land snails, the same they use to repair their own body and calcium shell whenever damaged.

The natural biocid action of the snail's mucin is very effective against skin infections and acne inflammation, and without the pitfalls of pharmaceutical antibiotics or the side effects of harsh chemicals. The mucin also helps to get rid of the chemical inflammatory promoters (i.e. interleukin-6, hydrogen peroxide, histamines, bacterial toxins) that are significantly increased by acne infection.

Forget about chemicals, now you can take care of your skin with nature's gift for healthy skin.

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