Antimicrobial peptides are polypeptides composed of less than 100 amino acids and are a class of antibiotics with strong activity against some infectious bacteria. This study examined the safety of four chosen antimicrobial peptides using primary human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) and explored their potential therapeutic use. The efficacy of the peptides was also studied by evaluating the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. One of the peptides (polymyxin E) was found to have antibacterial efficacy against a common Gram-negative bacterium (MIC 1.56 μg/mL for Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and another one (nisin) was found to have antibacterial efficacy against a common Gram-positive bacterium (MIC 125 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus). Metabolic activity and live/dead/apoptotic effects were measured with fluorescent dyes after HCEC were exposed to the peptides for 30 min. Three of the peptides exhibited lower toxicity against HCEC than a currently marketed eye drop product. Regarding both efficacy and safety, two of the peptides (polymyxin E and nisin) were found to have potential use for treating ocular infections.

抗菌肽是由少于100个氨基酸组成的多肽，是一类对某些感染性细菌具有很强活性的抗生素。本研究使用原代人角膜上皮细胞 (HCEC) 检查了四种选定的抗菌肽的安全性，并探讨了它们的潜在治疗用途。还通过评估针对革兰氏阴性和革兰氏阳性细菌的最小抑制浓度 (MIC) 来研究肽的功效。发现其中一种肽（多粘菌素 E）对一种常见的革兰氏阴性菌具有抗菌功效（对铜绿假单胞菌的MIC 为 1.56 μg/mL ），另一种肽（乳酸链球菌肽）对一种常见的革兰氏阳性菌具有抗菌功效细菌（金黄色葡萄球菌的MIC 125 μg/mL）。在 HCEC 暴露于肽 30 分钟后，用荧光染料测量代谢活性和活/死/细胞凋亡效应。其中三种肽对 HCEC 的毒性低于目前市售的滴眼液产品。关于功效和安全性，发现其中两种肽（多粘菌素 E 和乳链菌肽）具有治疗眼部感染的潜在用途。