Antimicrobial peptides in infected wounds

Abstract

Wound healing is a fundamental process to re-establish tissue integrity. Microbial infections, however, may hinder this process and compromise our health. The increasing resistance of microorganisms colonizing infections to conventional antibiotics has raised many concerns. Hence, new treatment options have been researched and new biomolecules uncovered. As known, multicellular organisms are endowed with an arsenal of host-defense molecules, the Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) that fight microbial invaders and modulate the host’s immune response. In recent years, research has been focused on the development of such molecules with lower toxicity and improved activity compared to their endogenous counterparts for potential applications in wound healing. The present work offers a review over AMPs involved in wound healing and used against infected wounds, their potentialities and limitations, and highlights their mode of action. The challenges with the use of AMPs and the current strategies to prevent those challenges are also enumerated.