Module 3: Mechanism of Action (uBonn, uTrieste, uOulu, Novamass, Novozymes)
A comprehensive understanding of molecular mechanisms of action of the antibacterial compounds is necessary to overcome the problem of bacterial resistance. Large molecule antibiotics, such as many AMPs, can have several activities. Therefore, these compounds do not necessarily conform to having only one target and one mode of action.
For example, the main mechanism of action (MoA) elucidated to date for many antimicrobial peptides is associated with inhibition of cell wall formation and/or formation of pores/channels/lesions in the cell membrane that leads to disruption of membrane potential and eventual lysis of the cell (Figure 4). It must however not be generalised that all AMPs act only by this mechanism. In the case of bacterial lantibiotics or plant defensins, binding occurs with specific lipidic components (bacterial lipid II and fungal sphingolipids respectively) leading to a more specific inactivation mechanism.
