Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research, University of British Columbia, Room 232, 2259 Lower Mall Research Station, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2011 Jul;68(13):2161-76. doi: 10.1007/s00018-011-0710-x. Epub 2011 May 15.
With the rapid rise in the emergence of bacterial strains resistant to multiple classes of antimicrobial agents, there is an urgent need to develop novel antimicrobial therapies to combat these pathogens. Cationic host defence peptides (HDPs) and synthetic derivatives termed innate defence regulators (IDRs) represent a promising alternative approach in the treatment of microbial-related diseases. Cationic HDPs (also termed antimicrobial peptides) have emerged from their origins as nature's antibiotics and are widely distributed in organisms from insects to plants to mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. Although their original and primary function was proposed to be direct antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, parasites and/or viruses, cationic HDPs are becoming increasingly recognized as multifunctional mediators, with both antimicrobial activity and diverse immunomodulatory properties. Here we provide an overview of the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities of cationic HDPs, and discuss their potential application as beneficial therapeutics in overcoming infectious diseases.
随着对抗生素具有多重耐药性的细菌菌株的迅速出现，迫切需要开发新型抗菌疗法来对抗这些病原体。阳离子宿主防御肽（HDP）和称为先天防御调节剂（IDR）的合成衍生物是治疗与微生物相关疾病的一种很有前途的方法。阳离子 HDP（也称为抗菌肽）源自天然抗生素，广泛分布于从昆虫到植物再到哺乳动物和非哺乳动物脊椎动物的生物中。尽管它们最初的主要功能是针对细菌、真菌、寄生虫和/或病毒的直接抗菌活性，但阳离子 HDP 越来越被认为是多功能介质，具有抗菌活性和多种免疫调节特性。在这里，我们概述了阳离子 HDP 的抗菌和免疫调节活性，并讨论了它们作为有益治疗剂在克服传染病方面的潜在应用。
