1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the treatment of urinary tract infections with antimicrobial peptides.
2. Background
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects kidneys, ureter, bladder and urethra. The main causitive agent is uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli (UPEC). Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it is usually sterile. When bacteria get into the bladder or kidney and multiply in the urine, they cause a UTI. The most common type of UTI is a bladder infection which is also often called cystitis, or bacterial cystitis. Another kind of UTI is a kidney infection, known as pyelonephritis, and is much more serious. Although they cause discomfort, most urinary tract infections can usually be quickly and easily treated with a short course of antibiotics.
However, increasing resistance in bacterial pathogens is a worldwide problem, and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in patients with UTI is increasing. A study of 168 urine samples, which were collected from UTI patients, followed by isolation and identification of E. coli strains, showed that the majority of the isolates were resistant against four or more antibiotics (Khan and Zaman, “Multiple drug resistance pattern in Urinary Tract Infection patients in Aligarh”, Biomedical Research (India) 17(3): 179-181 (2006)). Accordingly, there is a great need for novel antibiotics suitable for treatment of UTI, in particular UTI caused by multiple drug resistant E. coli strains.
It is an object of the present invention to provide polypeptides, which can be used for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
WO 2007/023163 disclosed Arenicin and methods of producing it.