Kelly L Brown, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Neeloffer Mookherjee, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Robert EW Hancock, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Published online: July 2007
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001212.pub2
Host defence (antimicrobial) peptides and proteins are important effectors of the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. To eradicate infectious agents and support immunity they (1) interfere with microbial integrity or metabolism by targeting structures or nutrients specific to microbes and (2) interact with host innate immune cells to tailor a heightened but balanced immune response.
Keywords: defence peptides; antibacterial; immunomodulatory; innate immunity
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Figure 1. Overview of the properties of cationic defence peptides. In an immune response to infection (microbes denoted by ), defence peptides engage in antimicrobial activities via direct microbial killing and interaction with cells of the innate immune system. Reprinted from Brown KL and Hancock RE (2006) Cationic host defense (antimicrobial). Current Opinion in Immunology 18(1): 24–30.
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Figure 2. Source of defence peptides and proteins. Defence proteins and peptides are highly expressed by phagocytic cells, intestinal crypts and the mucosal epithelium. The defence peptides and proteins (in italics) may be found in intracellular granules or constitutively or inducibly secreted to the extracellular environment.
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Figure 3. Bacterial targets of defence peptides and proteins. Direct antimicrobial activity occurs primarily in phagocytic granules and intestinal crypts where there is a high concentration of defence peptides and proteins (in italics). Antimicrobial activity is generally directed at microbial membrane integrity and intracellular molecules critical to growth and maintenance (in bold).
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| Further Reading | |
| Bevins CL (2006) Paneth cell defensins: key effector molecules of innate immunity. Biochemical Society Transactions 34(Pt 2): 263–266. | |
| Brown KL and Hancock RE (2006) Cationic host defence (antimicrobial) peptides. Current Opinions in Immunology 18(1): 24–30. | |
| Clarke DJ and Campopiano DJ (2006) Structural and functional studies of defensin-inspired peptides. Biochemical Society Transactions 34(Pt 2): 251–256. | |
| De Smet K and Contreras R (2005) Human antimicrobial peptides: defensins, cathelicidins and histatins. Biotechnology Letters 27(18): 1337–1347. | |
| Finlay BB and Hancock REW (2004) Can innate immunity be enhanced to treat microbial infections?. Nature Reviews in Microbiology 2(6): 497–504. | |
| Hiemstra PS, Fernie-King BA, McMichael J, Lachmann PJ and Sallenave JM (2004) Antimicrobial peptides: mediators of innate immunity as templates for the development of novel anti-infective and immune therapeutics. Current Pharmaceutical Design 10: 2891–2905. | |
| Jenssen H, Hamill P and Hancock RE (2006) Peptide antimicrobial agents. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 19(3): 491–511. | |
| Kim C and Kaufmann SH (2006) Defensin: a multifunctional molecule lives up to its versatile name. Trends in Microbiology 14(10): 428–431. | |
| Klotman ME and Change TL (2006) Defensins in innate antiviral immunity. Nature Reviews Immunology 6(6): 447–456. | |
| book Mookherjee N, Brown KL and Hancock REW (2006) "Cathelicidins: cationic host defence and antimicrobial peptides". A Kastan (ed.) Handbook of Biologically Active Peptides, pp. 67–74. Burlington, MA: Academic Press/Elsevier Inc | |
| Oppenheim JJ and Yang D (2005) Alarmins: chemotactic activators of immune responses. Current Opinions in Immunology 17: 359–365. | |
| Pazgiera M, Hoover DM, Yang D, Lu W and Lubkowski J (2006) Human beta-defensins. Cellular and Molecular Life Science 63(11): 1294–1313. | |
| Schroder JM and Harder J (2006) Antimicrobial skin peptides and proteins. Cellular and Molecular Life Science 63(4): 469–486. | |
| Scott MG, Dullaghan E, Mookherjee N et al. (2007) An anti-infective peptide that selectively modulates the innate immune response. Nature Biotechnology 25(4): 465–472 | |
| Selsted ME and Ouellette AJ (2005) Mammalian defensins in the antimicrobial immune response. Nature Immunology 6(6): 551–557. | |
| Zanetti M (2005) The role of cathelicidins in the innate host defences of mammals. Current Issues in Molecular Biology 7(2): 179–196. | |
| Zhang L and Falla TJ (2006) Antimicrobial peptides: therapeutic potential. Expert Opinon on Pharmacotherapy 7(6): 653–663. | |
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