Synergy among antibacterial peptides and between peptides and small-molecule antibiotics.

Antimicrobial peptides are key components of native immunity. Unlike most common small-molecule antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides have been refined by evolution to work synergistically within the host environment. The mechanisms of synergy are complex and specific, and it is only now that they are beginning to be understood. Thus, antimicrobial peptides are top candidates to broaden our limited therapeutic arsenal, and are very well suited to be used in synergic combinations with currently available antibiotics. In order for this promising strategy to become a reality, however, some key steps in basic and translational research need to be improved. These include the standardization and critical evaluation of testing and quantification methods, the characterization of the molecular mechanism of action, the study of indirect antibacterial activity such as immune-response modulation, and several other aspects that will be presented and discussed, with a focus primarily on antibacterial therapy. There will be a special focus on advances and innovations that might significantly improve the future perspectives of antimicrobial peptides from a therapeutic point-of-view.