천혜의 항생제:항균펩티드

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides are natural antibiotics evolved by many plants, invertebrate, and vertebrate to defend against the microbial infection. Antimicrobial peptides show a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with little opportunity for the development of resistance since they target microbial membranes that distinguish microbes from eukaryotic cells. The oral cavity is constantly exposed to microbial challenges and antimicrobial peptides play an important role in maintaining the oral health. With the increase of resistant micro-organisms to conventional antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides are attracting interests as novel antibiotics. In this review, the characteristics of antimicrobial peptides including the classification, mechanism of action, resistance, and expression in the oral cavity have been discussed in the prospect of application to oral diseases.