Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone: An Emerging Anti-Inflammatory Antimicrobial Peptide

The alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) is a neuropeptide belonging to the melanocortin family. It is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects and shares several characteristics with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). There have been some recent reports about the direct antimicrobial activity of alpha-MSH against various microbes belonging to both fungal and bacterial pathogens. Similar to alpha-MSH's anti-inflammatory properties, its C-terminal residues also exhibit antimicrobial activity parallel to that of the entire peptide. This review is focused on the current findings regarding the direct antimicrobial potential and immunomodulatory mechanism of alpha-MSH and its C-terminal fragments, with particular emphasis on the prospects of alpha-MSH based peptides as a strong anti-infective agent.