Investigation of the antimicrobial activity of a short cationic peptide against promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania major (MHRO/IR/75/ER): An in vitro study

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most endemic global health problems in many countries all around the world. Pentavalent antimonial drugs constitute the first line of leishmaniasis treatment; however, resistance to these drugs is a serious problem. Therefore, new therapies with new modes of action are urgently needed. In the current study, we examined antimicrobial activity of CM11 hybrid peptide (WKLFKKILKVL-NH2) against promastigote and amastigote forms of L. major (MHRO/IR/75/ER). In vitro anti-leishmanial activity was identified against L. major by parasite viability and metabolic activity after exposure to different peptide concentration. In the presentt study, we demostrated that different concentrations of CM11 result in dose dependent growth inhibition of Leishmania promastigotes. Furthermore, we demostrated that CM11 peptide has significant anti-leishmanial activities on amastigotes. Our results demonstrated that CM11 antimicrobial peptide may provide an alternative therapeutic approach for L. major treatment. [Display omitted] •CM11 hybrid peptide showed dose-dependent effects on promastigote of L.major with IC50 of 6.92 μM after 48 h.•CM11 hybrid peptide showed a dose-dependent anti-amastigote activity with IC50 value of 9.015 μM after 48 h.•The concentration of 16 μM of CM11 had the best effect in all time points.•CM11 peptide (8 and 16 μM) did not show any cytotoxicity on murine macrophage.