Peptide interactions with bacterial lipopolysaccharides

Peptide and protein interactions with (lipo)polysaccharides are important in various biological contexts, including lipoprotein deposition at proteoglycan-covered endothelial surfaces in atherosclerosis, lectin functionality, and the interaction of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory peptides and proteins with (lipo)polysaccharides. The latter of these areas, which is the topic of this review, has attracted considerable interest during the last few years, since antimicrobial peptides may offer novel therapeutic opportunities in an era of growing problems with antibiotic resistance, and persisting problems with both acute and chronic inflammation. In the present overview, physicochemical factors affecting peptide interactions with bacterial (lipo)polysaccharides are discussed, both in solution and at membrane interfaces. In doing so, an attempt is made to illustrate how physicochemical factors affect the antimicrobial and anti-endotoxic functionality of such peptides, and how knowledge on this can be translated into therapeutic opportunities, e.g., in sepsis.