{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T20:58:42Z","timestamp":1775163522529,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,11]],"date-time":"2020-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1599782400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2018YFA0903400"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2018YFA0903400"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China","award":["BK20190893"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BK20190893"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002858","name":"China Postdoctoral Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2019M651984"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019M651984"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002858","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD)","award":["2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019"]}]},{"name":"Lift Engineering of Young Talents of Jiangsu Association for Science and Technology","award":["2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The emergence and prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria particularly Gram-negative bacteria presents a global crisis for human health. Colistin and tigecycline were recognized as the last resort of defenses against MDR Gram-negative pathogens. However, the emergence and prevalence of MCR or Tet(X)-mediated acquired drug resistance drastically impaired their clinical efficacy. It has been suggested that antimicrobial peptides might act a crucial role in combating antibiotic resistant bacteria owing to their multiple modes of action and characteristics that are not prone to developing drug resistance. Herein, we report a safe and stable tryptophan-rich amphiphilic peptide termed WRK-12 with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against various MDR bacteria, including MRSA, colistin and tigecycline-resistant Escherichia coli. Mechanistical studies showed that WRK-12 killed resistant E. coli through permeabilizing the bacterial membrane, dissipating membrane potential and triggering the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Meanwhile, WRK-12 significantly inhibited the formation of an E. coli biofilm in a dose-dependent manner. These findings revealed that amphiphilic peptide WRK-12 is a promising drug candidate in the fight against MDR bacteria.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms8091398","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,11]],"date-time":"2020-09-11T09:05:16Z","timestamp":1599815116000},"page":"1398","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Potent Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Activity of Amphiphilic Peptides against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9622-6471","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Institute of Comparative Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jingru","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ziwen","family":"Tong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuqian","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kangni","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhiqiang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1804","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMra0904124","article-title":"Hospital-acquired infections due to gram-negative bacteria","volume":"362","author":"Peleg","year":"2010","journal-title":"N. 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