A peptide isolated from an ant active against Helicobacter pylori
Résumé
An antimicrobial peptide, named Bicarinalin [1], isolated from the venom of the ant Tetramorium bicarinatum showed remarkably strong activity against an ATCC strain and forty-four Peruvian patient strains of Helicobacter pylori isolated from stomach ulcer biopsies. Bicarinalin had a potent antibacterial activity (IC50= 0.98µM at the same magnitude as for four antibiotics: amoxicillin IC50 < 0.07µM, clarithromycin IC50= 1.34µM, metronidazole IC50= 46.7µM and levofloxacin IC50= 2.77µM used currently in therapeutic against H. pylori. Moreover, it is efficient in the inhibition of H. pylori adherence on gastric cells with an IC50= 0.098µM and not toxic against the same cells (Selective Index > 7), suggesting potential for development into an anti-infective agent for use against the causal agent of stomach ulcers. Bicarinalin is a promising lead compound in the search for more effective and specific H. pylori therapeutics.