Epinecidin-1 has immunomodulatory effects, facilitating its therapeutic use in a mouse model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are garnering attention as possible alternatives to antibiotics. Here, we describe the antimicrobial properties of epinecidin-1 against multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa (R)) and P. aeruginosa from ATCC (P. aeruginosa (19660)) in vivo. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of epinecidin-1 against P. aeruginosa (R) and P. aeruginosa (19660) were determined, and compared with those of imipenem. Epinecidin-1 was found to be highly effective at combating peritonitis infection caused by P. aeruginosa (R) or P. aeruginosa (19660) in mouse models, without inducing adverse behavioral effects, or liver or kidney toxicity. Taken together, our results indicate that epinecidin-1 enhances the survival rate of mice infected with the bacterial pathogen P. aeruginosa through both antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects. RNA from mice treated with epinecidin-1 were individually compared to RNA from PBS control mice.