Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34588573›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Bovine NK-lysin peptides exert potent antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant Salmonella outbreak isolates.

Rohana P Dassanayake, Briony M Atkinson, Adam S Mullis, Shollie M Falkenberg, Eric M Nicholson, Eduardo Casas, Balaji Narasimhan, Shawn M D Bearson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Antimicrobial Peptide CPP-C3M4 AttenuatesAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Rohana P DassanayakeAgricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit, USDA, Ames, IA, USA. rohana.dassanayake@usda.gov.
Briony M AtkinsonAgricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research Unit, USDA, Ames, IA, USA.
Adam S MullisDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Nanovaccine Institute, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Shollie M FalkenbergAgricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit, USDA, Ames, IA, USA.
Eric M NicholsonVirus and Prion Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA.
Eduardo CasasAgricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit, USDA, Ames, IA, USA.
Balaji NarasimhanDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Nanovaccine Institute, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Shawn M D BearsonAgricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research Unit, USDA, Ames, IA, USA. shawn.bearson@usda.gov.
Agricultural Research Service · USIowa State University · USNational Animal Disease Center · USUnited States Department of Agriculture · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella is a threat to public health. Non-antibiotic therapies could serve as important countermeasures to control MDR Salmonella outbreaks. In this study, antimicrobial activity of cationic α-helical bovine NK-lysin-derived antimicrobial peptides was evaluated against MDR Salmonella outbreak isolates. NK2A and NK2B strongly inhibited MDR Salmonella growth while NK1 and NK2C showed minimum-to-no growth inhibition. Scrambled-NK2A, which is devoid of α-helicity but has the same net positive charge as NK2A, also failed to inhibit bacterial growth. Incubation of negatively charged MDR Salmonella with NK2A showed increased Zeta potential, indicating bacterial-peptide electrostatic attraction. Confocal and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed NK2A-mediated damage to MDR Salmonella membranes. LPS inhibited NK2A-mediated growth suppression in a dose-dependent response, suggesting irreversible NK2A-LPS binding. LPS-NK2A binding and bacterial membrane disruption was also confirmed via electron microscopy using gold nanoparticle-NK2A conjugates. Finally, NK2A-loaded polyanhydride nanoparticles showed sustained peptide delivery and anti-bacterial activity. Together, these findings indicate that NK2A α-helicity and positive charge are prerequisites for antimicrobial activity and that MDR Salmonella killing is mediated by direct interaction of NK2A with LPS and the inner membrane, leading to bacterial membrane permeabilization. With further optimization using nano-carriers, NK2A has the potential to become a potent anti-MDR Salmonella agent.

Indexed as

AnimalsAntimicrobial PeptidesCattleDisease Models, AnimalDisease OutbreaksDrug Evaluation, PreclinicalDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialFemaleHumansInjections, IntraperitonealMiceMicrobial Sensitivity TestsProteolipidsSalmonellaSalmonella InfectionsAntimicrobial PeptidesNK-lysinProteolipids

Identifiers

PMID34588573
PMCPMC8481502
OpenAlexW3201875277

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.