Atividade antimicrobiana do peptídeo sintético LYS-A1 frente a estreptococos orais

Abstract

Dental caries is defined as an infectious, chronic and multifactorial disease, in which there is a progressive demineralization of tooth structure with consequent pain and dental loss. It is considered a major public health problem worldwide because its high incidence, besides its oral and systemic consequences. Thus, new methods of microbial control have been investigated to reduce the number of cases. Antimicrobial peptides are molecules present in many living beings and have a high biocidal activity against various pathogenic microrganisms. The peptide Lys-[Trp6]-Hy-A1 (Lys-a1) is a synthetic derivative of the peptide Hy-A1, initially isolated from the species Hypsiboas albopunctatus. According to previous research, it is a molecule with broad antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the synthetic peptide Lys-a1 on the planktonic and biofilm growth of oral bacteria. The methods used to evaluate antimicrobial activity include the following: determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) in microtiter plates for growth in suspension and quantification of biomass by crystal violet staining and counting of colony forming units for biofilm growth. The microorganisms S. oralis, S. sanguinis, S. parasanguinis, S. salivarius, S. mutans and S. sobrinus were grown in Brain Heart Infusion broth supplemented with 1% sucrose (BHIs) at 37 °C under atmospheric pressure with 10% CO2. The peptide was solubilized in 0.1% acetic acid (v/v) at various concentrations (500 to 1.9 µg.mL-1). Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% was used as the positive control, and BHIs culture medium was used as the negative control. The tested peptide demonstrated a remarkable antimicrobial effect, inhibiting the planktonic and biofilm growth of all strains tested, even at low concentrations. Thus, the peptide Lys-a1 is an important source for potential antimicrobial agents, especially for the control and prevention of microbial biofilms, which is one of the most important factors in cariogenic processes