%0 Journal Article %T Antimicrobial and Chemotactic Activity of Scorpion-Derived Peptide, ToAP2, against Mycobacterium massiliensis %A Adeliane C. da Costa %A Ana Paula Junqueira-Kipnis %A Andr¨¦ Kipnis %A Danilo P. Resende %A Elisabeth F. Schwartz %A L¨¢zaro M. Marques-Neto %A Monalisa M. Trentini %A M¨¢rcia R. Mortari %A Rog¨¦rio C. das Neves %A Victor O. Procopio %J Archive of "Toxins". %D 2018 %R 10.3390/toxins10060219 %X Mycobacterium massiliense is a rapid growing, multidrug-resistant, non-tuberculous mycobacteria that is responsible for a wide spectrum of skin and soft tissue infections, as well as other organs, such as the lungs. Antimicrobial peptides had been described as broad-spectrum antimicrobial, chemotactic, and immunomodulator molecules. In this study we evaluated an antimicrobial peptide derived from scorpion Tityus obscurus as an anti-mycobacterial agent in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatics analyses demonstrated that the peptide ToAP2 have a conserved region similar to several membrane proteins, as well as mouse cathelicidin. ToAP2 inhibited the growth of four M. massiliense strains (GO01, GO06, GO08, and CRM0020) at a minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 200 ¦ÌM. MBC concentration used to treat infected macrophages was able to inhibit 50% of the bacterial growth of all strains. ToAP2 treatment of infected mice with bacilli reduced the bacterial load in the liver, lung, and spleen, similarly to clarithromycin levels (90%). ToAP2 alone recruited monocytes (F4/80low Gr1), neutrophils (F4/80£¿ Gr1), and eosinophils (F4/80+ Gr1+). ToAP2, together with M. massiliense infection, was able to increase F4/80low and reduce the percentage of F4/80high macrophages when compared with infected and untreated mice. ToAP2 has in vitro anti-microbial activity that is improved in vivo due to chemotactic activity %K antimicrobial peptide %K mycobacteria inhibition %K Mycobacterium %K monocyte %K neutrophil %U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024781/