{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/132987"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/132987","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Engineering membrane-selective antibiotic peptides to combat multidrug resistance","abstract":"Antibiotic resistance is a global health emergency that mandates new drug development strategies. Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been long-recognized as a potential source of bacteriolytic drugs, but the shortcomings of non-specific membrane toxicity, proteolytic instability, and in vivo toxicity have stymied their clinical translation. Here, we subjected expansive stapled-peptide libraries of the magainin II (Mag2) AMP to structure-function analyses and uncovered the biophysical and mechanistic determinants that allow for the rational design of stapled AMPs (StAMPs) that are bacterial-membrane selective, proteolytically-stable, well tolerated in mice upon intravenous administration, and most importantly, overcome even the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including colistin-resistant A. baumannii and mobilized colistin resistance plasmid-bearing E. coli. Specifically, we discovered that the topographic continuity and strength of hydrophobic networks, in the context of alpha-helical amphipathic cationic peptides, dictates both the selectivity and mechanism of membrane lysis. We further harnessed our results to develop an algorithm for the design of a new generation of non-toxic, bacterial-selective StAMPs for clinical development.","abstract_html":"Antibiotic resistance is a global health emergency that mandates new drug development strategies. Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been long-recognized as a potential source of bacteriolytic drugs, but the shortcomings of non-specific membrane toxicity, proteolytic instability, and in vivo toxicity have stymied their clinical translation. Here, we subjected expansive stapled-peptide libraries of the magainin II (Mag2) AMP to structure-function analyses and uncovered the biophysical and mechanistic determinants that allow for the rational design of stapled AMPs (StAMPs) that are bacterial-membrane selective, proteolytically-stable, well tolerated in mice upon intravenous administration, and most importantly, overcome even the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including colistin-resistant A. baumannii and mobilized colistin resistance plasmid-bearing E. coli. Specifically, we discovered that the topographic continuity and strength of hydrophobic networks, in the context of alpha-helical amphipathic cationic peptides, dictates both the selectivity and mechanism of membrane lysis. We further harnessed our results to develop an algorithm for the design of a new generation of non-toxic, bacterial-selective StAMPs for clinical development.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mourtada, Rida."],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Doctoral","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Loren D. Walensky."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018","date_published":"2018","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:57Z","subjects":["Harvard--MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses may be protected by copyright. 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Natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been long-recognized as a potential source of bacteriolytic drugs, but the shortcomings of non-specific membrane toxicity, proteolytic instability, and in vivo toxicity have stymied their clinical translation. Here, we subjected expansive stapled-peptide libraries of the magainin II (Mag2) AMP to structure-function analyses and uncovered the biophysical and mechanistic determinants that allow for the rational design of stapled AMPs (StAMPs) that are bacterial-membrane selective, proteolytically-stable, well tolerated in mice upon intravenous administration, and most importantly, overcome even the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including colistin-resistant A. baumannii and mobilized colistin resistance plasmid-bearing E. coli. Specifically, we discovered that the topographic continuity and strength of hydrophobic networks, in the context of alpha-helical amphipathic cationic peptides, dictates both the selectivity and mechanism of membrane lysis. We further harnessed our results to develop an algorithm for the design of a new generation of non-toxic, bacterial-selective StAMPs for clinical development."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph. D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Engineering membrane-selective antibiotic peptides to combat multidrug resistance"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Loren D. 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Here, we subjected expansive stapled-peptide libraries of the magainin II (Mag2) AMP to structure-function analyses and uncovered the biophysical and mechanistic determinants that allow for the rational design of stapled AMPs (StAMPs) that are bacterial-membrane selective, proteolytically-stable, well tolerated in mice upon intravenous administration, and most importantly, overcome even the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including colistin-resistant A. baumannii and mobilized colistin resistance plasmid-bearing E. coli. Specifically, we discovered that the topographic continuity and strength of hydrophobic networks, in the context of alpha-helical amphipathic cationic peptides, dictates both the selectivity and mechanism of membrane lysis. We further harnessed our results to develop an algorithm for the design of a new generation of non-toxic, bacterial-selective StAMPs for clinical development."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph. 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