Donnarumma Giovanna, Paoletti Iole, Buommino Elisabetta, Iovene Maria Rosaria, Tudisco Laura, Cozza Valentina, Tufano Maria Antonietta
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Second University of Naples, Department of Experimental Medicine, Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Via Costantinopoli 16, 80138 Naples, Italy.
Peptides. 2007 Dec;28(12):2286-92. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2007.09.009. Epub 2007 Sep 22.
Epithelia in the human airways, from the nasal aperture to the alveoli, are covered in a protective film of fluid containing a number of antimicrobial proteins. Defensins are single-chain, strongly cationic peptides and are one of the most extensively studied classes of antimicrobial peptides. Moxifloxacin (MXF) is a fluoroquinolone that acts against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. In this study, we evaluated the effects of HBD2, MXF and the association MXF/HBD2 on some cytokines and on the ICAM-1 expression in LPS-stimulated A549 cells. Our results suggest that by lowering the epithelial cell-derived IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and ICAM-1 expression, the MXF/HBD2 association interferes with the multifunctional cytokine network evolving during inflammatory processes of the respiratory tract; this anti-inflammatory potential could be of great value in the treatment of inflammatory disorders.
