RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 A biomimetic peptide recognizes and traps bacteria in vivo as human defensin-6 JF Science Advances JO Sci Adv FD American Association for the Advancement of Science SP eaaz4767 DO 10.1126/sciadv.aaz4767 VO 6 IS 19 A1 Fan, Yu A1 Li, Xiang-Dan A1 He, Ping-Ping A1 Hu, Xiao-Xue A1 Zhang, Kuo A1 Fan, Jia-Qi A1 Yang, Pei-Pei A1 Zheng, Hao-Yan A1 Tian, Wen A1 Chen, Zi-Ming A1 Ji, Lei A1 Wang, Hao A1 Wang, Lei YR 2020 UL http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/19/eaaz4767.abstract AB Using broad-spectrum antibiotics for microbial infection may cause flora disequilibrium, drug-resistance, etc., seriously threatening human health. Here, we design a human defensin-6 mimic peptide (HDMP) that inhibits bacterial invasion in vivo through mimicking the mechanisms of human defensin-6 with high efficiency and precision. The HDMP with ligand and self-assembling peptide sequence recognizes bacteria through ligand-receptor interactions and subsequently traps bacteria by an in situ adaptive self-assembly process and resulting nanofibrous networks; these trapped bacteria are unable to invade host cells. In four animal infection models, the infection rate was markedly decreased. Notably, administration of HDMP (5 mg/kg) nanoparticles increased the survival rate of mice with methicillin-resistant S. aureus bacteremia by as much as 100%, even more than that of vancomycin treatment (5 mg/kg, 83.3%)–treated group, the golden standard of antibiotics. This biomimetic peptide shows great potential as a precise and highly efficient antimicrobial agent.