State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock Jointly Constructed by Ministry and Province, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, 24 Zhaojun Road, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock Jointly Constructed by Ministry and Province, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, 24 Zhaojun Road, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2024 Sep;227:116451. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116451. Epub 2024 Jul 25.
The increasing threat of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microorganisms and the urgent demand for new antibiotics require immediate attention. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit effectiveness against microorganisms, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. The discovery of human β-defensins represents a major milestone in biomedical research, opening new avenues for scientific investigation into the innate immune system and its resistance mechanisms against pathogenic microorganisms. Multiple defensins present a promising alternative in the context of antibiotic abuse. However, obstacles to the practical application of defensins as anti-infective therapies persist due to the unique properties of human β-defensins themselves and serious pharmacological and technical challenges. To overcome these challenges, diverse delivery vehicles have been developed and progressively improved for the conjugation or encapsulation of human β-defensins. This review briefly introduces the biology of human β-defensins, focusing on their multistage structure and diverse functions. It also discusses several heterologous systems for producing human β-defensins, various delivery systems created for these peptides, and patent applications related to their utilization, concluding with a summary of current challenges and potential solutions.
越来越多的致病微生物对抗生素的耐药性威胁，以及对新型抗生素的迫切需求，都需要我们立即关注。抗菌肽对微生物、真菌、病毒和原生动物均具有有效性。人类 β-防御素的发现是生物医学研究的一个重大里程碑，为研究先天免疫系统及其对致病微生物的抵抗机制开辟了新的途径。多种防御素在抗生素滥用的背景下是一种很有前途的替代方法。然而，由于人类 β-防御素本身的独特性质以及严重的药理学和技术挑战，防御素作为抗感染治疗的实际应用仍然存在障碍。为了克服这些挑战，已经开发并逐步改进了多种输送载体，用于将人类 β-防御素进行缀合或包封。本文简要介绍了人类 β-防御素的生物学特性，重点介绍了其多阶段结构和多种功能。本文还讨论了几种生产人类 β-防御素的异源系统、为这些肽创建的各种输送系统，以及与它们的利用相关的专利申请，并总结了当前的挑战和潜在的解决方案。
