Department of Immunology, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, 37660 León Guanajuato, Mexico.
Clin Immunol. 2010 Apr;135(1):1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2009.12.004. Epub 2010 Jan 29.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily conserved molecules involved in the defense mechanisms of a wide range of organisms. Produced in bacteria, insects, plants and vertebrates, AMPs protect against a broad array of infectious agents. In mammals these peptides protect against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and certain parasites. Recently, novel biologic effects of AMPs have been documented such as endotoxin neutralization, chemotactic and immunomodulating activities, induction of angiogenesis and wound repair. Thus these ancestral molecules are crucial components of the innate immune system and attractive candidates for novel therapeutic approaches. This review focuses on cathelicin and defensins, the most documented human AMPs, and discusses their antimicrobial activity and pleiotropic immunomodulating effects on inflammatory and infectious diseases.
抗菌肽（AMPs）是一种广泛存在于各种生物体防御机制中的进化保守分子。它们在细菌、昆虫、植物和脊椎动物中产生，能够抵御多种感染因子。在哺乳动物中，这些肽类物质可以抵御细菌、病毒、真菌和某些寄生虫。最近，人们发现抗菌肽还具有一些新的生物学效应，如中和内毒素、趋化和免疫调节作用、诱导血管生成和伤口修复等。因此，这些古老的分子是先天免疫系统的重要组成部分，也是新型治疗方法的有吸引力的候选者。本综述重点介绍了已被广泛研究的人类抗菌肽——防御素和抗菌肽，讨论了它们的抗菌活性和对炎症性和传染性疾病的多效免疫调节作用。
