Effect of the Antimicrobial Peptide Tritrpticin on the In Vitro Viability and Growth of Trichomonas vaginalis

Antimicrobial peptides are widely distributed in nature; they play important roles in several aspects of innate immunity and may provide a basis for the design of novel therapeutic agents. In this study, C-amidated tritrpticin, a 13 amino acid tryptophan-rich antimicrobial peptide derived from a porcine cathelicidin, was tested against Trichomonas vaginalis, a protozoan that causes a serious non-viral sexually transmitted disease associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, and high risk of HIV-1 infection. Tritrpticin was selected due to its reasonably easy synthesis and because analogs with lower toxicity may be designed. Our results show that tritrpticin-NH2 at either 100 or 200 mu g/ml (52.5 or 105 mu M) clearly reduces the viability and growth of Trichomonas vaginalis. Together with tritrpticin-NH2, sodium bicarbonate further limited trichomonad growth. Additionally, a low concentration of metronidazole (5.8 mu M), the most commonly used medication for Trichomonas vaginalis, was more effective against the growth of the parasite when it was combined with tritrpticin-NH2.