Kamysz Wojciech
Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
Nucl Med Rev Cent East Eur. 2005;8(1):78-86.
Antimicrobial peptides are widespread in living organisms and constitute an important component of innate immunity to microbial infections. By the early 1980s, more than 800 different antimicrobial peptides had been isolated from mammals, amphibians, fish, insects, plants and bacterial species. In humans, they are produced by granulocytes, macrophages and most epithelial and endothelial cells. Newly discovered antibiotics have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and even antiprotozoal activity. Occasionally, a single antibiotic may have a very wide spectrum of activity and may show activity towards various kinds of microorganisms. Although antimicrobial activity is the most typical function of peptides, they are also characterized by numerous other properties. They stimulate the immune system, have anti-neoplastic properties and participate in cell signalling and proliferation regulation. As antimicrobial peptides from higher eukaryotes differ structurally from conventional antibiotics produced by bacteria and fungi, they offer novel templates for pharmaceutical compounds, which could be used effectively against the increasing number of resistant microbes.
抗菌肽广泛存在于生物体内，是机体抵御微生物感染固有免疫的重要组成部分。到20世纪80年代初，已从哺乳动物、两栖动物、鱼类、昆虫、植物及细菌物种中分离出800多种不同的抗菌肽。在人类中，它们由粒细胞、巨噬细胞以及大多数上皮细胞和内皮细胞产生。新发现的抗菌肽具有抗菌、抗真菌、抗病毒甚至抗原虫活性。偶尔，一种单一的抗菌肽可能具有非常广泛的活性谱，并可能对各种微生物表现出活性。尽管抗菌活性是抗菌肽最典型的功能，但它们还具有许多其他特性。它们能刺激免疫系统，具有抗肿瘤特性，并参与细胞信号传导和增殖调节。由于高等真核生物的抗菌肽在结构上不同于细菌和真菌产生的传统抗生素，它们为药物化合物提供了新的模板，可有效对抗日益增多的耐药微生物。
