Boman H G
Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
J Intern Med. 2003 Sep;254(3):197-215. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2796.2003.01228.x.
Antibacterial peptides are the effector molecules of innate immunity. Generally they contain 15-45 amino acid residues and the net charge is positive. The cecropin type of linear peptides without cysteine were found first in insects, whilst the defensin type with three disulphide bridges were found in rabbit granulocytes. Now a database stores more than 800 sequences of antibacterial peptides and proteins from the animal and plant kingdoms. Generally, each species has 15-40 peptides made from genes, which code for only one precursor. The dominating targets are bacterial membranes and the killing reaction must be faster than the growth rate of the bacteria. Some antibacterial peptides are clearly multifunctional and an attempt to predict this property from the hydrophobicity of all amino acid side chains are given. Gene structures and biosynthesis are known both in the fruit fly Drosophila and several mammals. Humans need two classes of defensins and the cathelicidin-derived linear peptide LL-37. Clinical cases show that deficiencies in these peptides give severe symptoms. Examples given are morbus Kostmann and atopic allergy. Several antibacterial peptides are being developed as drugs.
抗菌肽是天然免疫的效应分子。一般来说，它们含有15 - 45个氨基酸残基，净电荷为正。无半胱氨酸的线性天蚕素型肽最早在昆虫中发现，而具有三个二硫键的防御素型肽则在兔粒细胞中发现。现在有一个数据库存储了来自动植物界的800多种抗菌肽和蛋白质序列。一般来说，每个物种有15 - 40种由基因编码的肽，这些基因只编码一种前体。主要靶点是细菌膜，杀伤反应必须比细菌的生长速度快。一些抗菌肽显然具有多种功能，并尝试根据所有氨基酸侧链的疏水性来预测这种特性。果蝇和几种哺乳动物的基因结构和生物合成过程都已为人所知。人类需要两类防御素和源自cathelicidin的线性肽LL - 37。临床病例表明，这些肽的缺乏会导致严重症状。给出的例子有科斯特曼病和特应性过敏。几种抗菌肽正在被开发成药物。
