Study summary · research use only
The human cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37: a multifunctional peptide involved in mycobacterial infections
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This review discusses the human cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37, a cationic antimicrobial peptide expressed mainly by neutrophils and epithelial cells, and its roles in mycobacterial infection. It describes antimicrobial peptides generally, the cathelicidin family's conserved N-terminal cathelin domain and variable C-terminal antimicrobial domain, and functions attributed to hCAP18/LL-37 including bactericidal action, chemotaxis, epithelial cell activation, angiogenesis, epithelial wound repair, and chemokine secretion activation. The review covers antimicrobial and immunomodulatory functions of hCAP18/LL-37, its role in antimycobacterial immune responses, and progress toward understanding applications of hCAP18/LL-37 and its derivative antimicrobial peptides in mycobacterial infection, without reporting original experimental data in this excerpt.
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides are predominantly small cationic polypeptides that are classified together on the basis of these molecules to directly kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms including mycobacteria, and to activate mechanisms of cellular and adaptive immunity. Various families of antimicrobial peptides have been identified, including the cathelicidins. The cathelicidin family is characterised by a conserved N-terminal cathelin domain and a variable C-terminal antimicrobial domain that can be released from the precursor protein after cleavage by proteinases. LL-37 is the C-terminal part of the only human cathelicidin identified to date called human cationic antimicrobial protein (hCAP18), which is mainly expressed by neutrophils and epithelial cells. The cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37 is a multifunctional molecule that may mediate various host responses, including bactericidal action, chemotaxis, epithelial cell activation, angiogenesis, epithelial wound repair and activation of chemokine secretion. The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is produced from human cells during infection of mycobacteria and exerts a microbicidal effect. The discussion will (1) describe recent work on the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory functions of the cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37, (2) highlight the effectiveness of the cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37 as a potent component in antimycobacterial immune responses and (3) summarise current progress in the understanding of the therapeutic application of hCAP18/LL-37 and its derivates antimicrobial peptides in mycobacterial infection.
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