Murakami Masamoto, Ohtake Takaaki, Dorschner Robert A, Schittek Birgit, Garbe Claus, Gallo Richard L
Division of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, and VA San Diego Healthcare Center, 92161, USA.
J Invest Dermatol. 2002 Nov;119(5):1090-5. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.19507.x.
The eccrine gland is one of the major cutaneous appendages and secretes sweat. Its principal function is thermoregulation during exposure to a hot environment or physical exercise. In addition to this function, we show that LL-37, a member of cathelicidin family of anti-microbial peptides, is expressed in sweat. LL-37 protein and mRNA was seen in the eccrine structures of normal human skin by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. LL-37 was localized to both the eccrine gland and sweat ductal epithelial cells, whereas dermcidin, a previously described natural antibiotic in sweat, was expressed only in the gland itself. The anti-microbial activity of LL-37 and dermcidin against various bacteria in the sweat ionic environment was demonstrated by solution colony forming assay using synthetic peptides, and in sweat obtained from normal volunteers. These results indicate that cathelicidin is secreted in human sweat, has potent anti-microbial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and can, after processing from the preproform, provide a barrier for protection against infection. Thus, sweat represents a unique mode of delivery for potent innate immune effector molecules in the absence of inflammation.
外分泌腺是主要的皮肤附属器之一，可分泌汗液。其主要功能是在暴露于热环境或进行体育锻炼时调节体温。除了这一功能外，我们发现抗菌肽cathelicidin家族的成员LL-37在汗液中表达。通过免疫组织化学和原位杂交在正常人皮肤的外分泌结构中可见LL-37蛋白和mRNA。LL-37定位于外分泌腺和汗腺导管上皮细胞，而先前描述的汗液中的天然抗生素皮抑素仅在腺体本身表达。通过使用合成肽的溶液菌落形成试验以及从正常志愿者获得的汗液，证明了LL-37和皮抑素在汗液离子环境中对各种细菌的抗菌活性。这些结果表明，cathelicidin在人类汗液中分泌，对革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌均具有强大的抗菌活性，并且在从前体形式加工后，可以提供抗感染的屏障。因此，汗液代表了在无炎症情况下强效先天免疫效应分子的独特传递方式。
