Squalamine as an Example of a New Potent Antimicrobial Agents Class: A Critical Review

K.      Alhanout; J.      M. Rolain; J.      M. Brunel

Abstract

An important strategy to circumvent the problem of antimicrobial resistance is to search for new compounds with antimicrobial activity. In this context, aminosterols, which include squalamine-like compounds and ceragenins, have gained interest due to their wide spectrum of antibacterial and antifungal properties. In light of recently reported data, we decided to analyze the mechanism of action of these compounds as well as their antimicrobial properties. Aminosterols are active against both bacterial reference strains and multidrug-resistant antibiotics as they disrupt the integrity of the bacterial membrane. Thus, these compounds could be useful in the development of new topical decontaminants or disinfecting agents.

Keywords: Squalamine, Aminosterol, Antimicrobial agents, Mechanism of action, antimicrobial resistance, ceragenins, aminosterol derivatives, multidrug-resistant, squalamine-like aminosterols (SLAs), sterol, synergistic com-bination, cholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Burkholderia cepacia, Inquilinus limosus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, polyamino groups, cati-onic peptide antibiotics (CPAs), exopolysaccharides (EPSs), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Plasmodium falciparum, aminosterols, Hemolytic Concentration (MHC), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), polymyxin analogs