{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T06:19:23Z","timestamp":1788848363568,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,28]],"date-time":"2025-12-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766880000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is an opportunistic pathogen associated with healthcare-related infections and is of particular concern due to its high level of antibiotic resistance and its ability to form biofilms. The global emergence of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii highlights the urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of two scorpion venom-derived peptides, pantinin-1 and pantinin-2, against a reference strain and a clinical isolate of A. baumannii. We found that both peptides, in the non-cytotoxic concentration range, have strong bactericidal activity, showing a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6.25 \u03bcM and 12.5 \u03bcM for pantinin 1 and 2, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the peptides cause extensive damage to the bacterial membrane. Furthermore, both peptides showed potent antibiofilm activity, inhibiting adhesion and maturation, arresting biofilm expansion, and reducing the expression of key biofilm-associated genes (bap, pgaA, and smpA). Altogether, these findings indicate that pantinin-1 and pantinin-2 act through a dual mechanism, combining bactericidal and antivirulence activities. Their strong efficacy at low micromolar concentrations, together with low cytotoxicity, underscores their potential as innovative therapeutic candidates against infections caused by carbapenem-resistant, biofilm-forming A. baumannii.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14010068","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,29]],"date-time":"2025-12-29T07:52:59Z","timestamp":1766994779000},"page":"68","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Scorpion Venom-Derived Peptides: A New Weapon Against Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6430-9343","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Capasso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7991-8700","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Zannella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9923-3194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rosa","family":"Giugliano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1648-4519","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annalisa","family":"Chianese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6789-7057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Monti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Federica","family":"Donadio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (ISASI), Naples Cryo Electron Microscopy Laboratory\u2014EYE LAB, National Research Council (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5347-247X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emanuela","family":"Esposito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (ISASI), Naples Cryo Electron Microscopy Laboratory\u2014EYE LAB, National Research Council (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerardo","family":"Marino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UOC Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, 84124 Salerno, Italy"},{"name":"UOC Virology and Microbiology, University Hospital \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2952-6658","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nunzianna","family":"Doti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging (IBB), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0395-7962","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"De Filippis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1576-6290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Massimiliano","family":"Galdiero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Specialized Surgery for Women and Children, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"},{"name":"UOC Virology and Microbiology, University Hospital \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pipito, L., Rubino, R., D\u2019Agati, G., Bono, E., Mazzola, C.V., Urso, S., Zinna, G., Distefano, S.A., Firenze, A., and Bonura, C. 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