The honeybee antimicrobial peptide apidaecin differentially immunomodulates human macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells.

We show that apidaecin binds to human macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells, displaying different intracellular distributions and inducing diversified effects. An apidaecin-cell association was detectable at concentrations as low as 5 μM and increased without saturation until 60 μM, was receptor independent and required a physiological temperature (37°C). For apidaecin, cytosolic localization was prevalent in macrophages and endosomal localization in monocytes, and associations with the plasma membrane were predominant in dendritic cells. Apidaecin upregulated T-lymphocyte co-stimulatory molecule CD80 and cytokine/chemokine production in macrophages, but not in monocytes and dendritic cells. Suboptimal stimulatory doses (5-10 μM) of apidaecin partially inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced increase in major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) and CD86 in macrophages, and the release of selected cytokines/chemokines by both macrophages [interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] and monocytes [IL-6, TNF-α, basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and eotaxin]. Apidaecin had a double-edged effect: at low concentrations it partially antagonized LPS-stimulatory effects on both macrophages and monocytes while it stimulated pro-inflammatory and pro-immune functions of macrophages at higher concentrations.