Figure 6.

Scheme of putative synergism between a cationic α-helix AMP with a conventional antibiotic. Cefalosporin is a DNA gyrase inhibitor, so it must get inside the bacterial cell to display antimicrobial activity. In the example, the resistance mechanism of this Gram-negative bacteria is an efflux pump, which pumps the antibiotic outside the cell. The AMP would permeabilize the membrane thus producing the income of more antibiotic molecules to the cytoplasm, where they could finally get the target.