Antifungal peptides: Exploiting non-lytic mechanisms and cell penetration properties

Antimicrobial peptides with antifungal activity have not received as much consideration as their antibacterial counterparts, which is probably a consequence of the higher impact of bacterial infections in human health. However, the emergence of mycoses as consequence of modern medical therapies on one hand, and the urgent need to find alternatives to fungicide use in agricultural and food industries, on the other, have increased the interest in antifungal peptides. Non-lytic modes of action have been reported in an array of antifungal peptides from diverse origins, both natural and synthetic, and are linked to low toxicity against non-target organisms, a desirable property for antimicrobial drugs. These non-lytic mechanisms include non-disruptive cell internalization, similar to cell penetrating peptides. Once inside the fungal cell, killing may occur by interference with various cell processes. Current knowledge of these mechanisms will be reviewed as well as the impact on the design of novel peptides and the identification of new antifungal targets. © 2012 American Chemical Society.