Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA.
Front Immunol. 2012 Sep 11;3:276. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2012.00276. eCollection 2012.
Chemokines are best known for their classic leukocyte chemotactic activity, which is critical for directing the immune response to sites of infection and injury. However, recent studies have suggested that at least some chemokines may also interfere with infectious agents directly. Antimicrobial chemokines tend to contain amphipathic alpha helical secondary structure, and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria, as well as fungi. Conversely, several bacteria have been identified that possess mechanisms for specifically blocking the antimicrobial activities of chemokines. Although the precise mechanisms by which chemokines and microbes disarm one another in vitro remain unknown, there is now emerging evidence in vivo that such interactions may be biologically significant. More research will be needed to determine whether chemokines with direct antimicrobial activity may be translated into a novel class of antibiotics.
趋化因子以其经典的白细胞趋化活性而闻名，这种活性对于指导免疫反应到感染和损伤部位至关重要。然而，最近的研究表明，至少有一些趋化因子也可能直接干扰感染因子。抗菌趋化因子往往含有两亲性的α螺旋二级结构，对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌以及真菌具有广谱活性。相反，已经鉴定出几种细菌具有专门阻断趋化因子抗菌活性的机制。尽管趋化因子和微生物在体外相互拮抗的确切机制尚不清楚，但目前体内有证据表明这种相互作用可能具有生物学意义。需要进一步的研究来确定具有直接抗菌活性的趋化因子是否可以转化为一类新型抗生素。
