ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biotechnology and Bioproducts
A Novel Peptide OAMP (oyster-derived antimicrobial peptide) against Clinical Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
Provisionally accepted
- 1Luohu Clinical Institute of Shantou University Medical College (Shenzhen Luohu People’s Hospital), Shenzhen, China
- 2Shenzhen Luohu Hospital Group Luohu People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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Abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a promising alternative for combating multidrug-resistant pathogens due to their broad-spectrum activity and lower likelihood of inducing resistance. In this study, we discovered and optimized a novel AMP, OAMP, derived from oyster hemolymph, which exhibits ideal antimicrobial efficacy against Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, including five clinically isolated carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CR-AB) strains. OAMP exhibited strong antimicrobial properties against all five CR-AB strains, with MIC values ranging from 4 to 8 μM. Concurrently, we evaluated the synergistic potential of OAMP in combination with conventional antibiotics (meropenem, tigecycline, and colistin) against CR-AB. OAMP showed additive effects with antibiotics (meropenem/tigecycline/colistin) but exhibited synergy in some cases, enabling lower doses without compromising efficacy—highlighting its potential against CR-AB. However, cytotoxicity and hemolysis at MIC levels warrant optimization for stability and safety before clinical research. Overall, our findings highlight that OAMP not only exhibits potent antibacterial activity but also holds promise in combinational therapy, serving as an adjuvant or additive to reduce antibiotic dosage and associated toxicity, thus providing a potential new strategy to tackle CR-AB infections.
Keywords: Antibiotic SynergisticEffects, Antimicrobial peptide (AMP), CR-AB, OAMP, oyster antimicrobial peptides
Received: 26 Oct 2025; Accepted: 19 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hou, Cai, Xu, Ma, Su, Wang, Mo and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mian Peng
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