Institute of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, People's Republic of China.
Institute of Animal Nutrition, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, People's Republic of China.
Poult Sci. 2020 Dec;99(12):6434-6445. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2020.09.030. Epub 2020 Sep 25.
Host defense peptides (HDP) are multifunctional effectors of the innate immune system, which has antimicrobial and pleiotropic immunomodulatory functions. Although there is a very sophisticated superposition of adaptive immune systems in vertebrates, this system is still essential. As an important family of HDP, cathelicidins are also known for their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against bacteria, fungi, and enveloped viruses. It has been found in humans and other species, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, and some kind of fish. Among them, cathelicidins in birds were described for the first time in 2005. This review focuses on the structure, biological activities, expression, and regulation of avian cathelicidin, especially main effects of host defense cathelicidin on potential therapeutic applications. According to the results obtained both in vitro and in vivo, good perspectives have been opened for cathelicidin. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to better characterize the mechanisms of action underlying the beneficial effects of cathelicidin as novel therapeutic alternatives to antibiotics.
宿主防御肽（HDP）是先天免疫系统的多功能效应因子，具有抗菌和多效免疫调节功能。尽管脊椎动物中存在着非常复杂的适应性免疫系统的叠加，但这个系统仍然是必不可少的。作为 HDP 的一个重要家族，抗菌肽也因其对细菌、真菌和包膜病毒的广谱抗菌活性而闻名。它在人类和其他物种中都有发现，包括牛、猪、羊、山羊、鸡、兔和一些鱼类。其中，鸟类中的抗菌肽于 2005 年首次被描述。本综述重点介绍了禽源抗菌肽的结构、生物学活性、表达和调控，特别是宿主防御性抗菌肽对潜在治疗应用的主要影响。根据体外和体内获得的结果，为抗菌肽开辟了良好的前景。然而，仍需要进一步的研究来更好地描述抗菌肽的作用机制，作为抗生素的新型治疗替代物。
