Antimicrobial peptides: Role in human disease and potential as immunotherapies

César de la Fuente-Núñez; Osmar N Silva; Timothy K Lu; Octavio Luiz Franco

doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.04.002

Antimicrobial peptides: Role in human disease and potential as immunotherapies

Pharmacol Ther. 2017 Oct:178:132-140. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.04.002. Epub 2017 Apr 21.

Authors

César de la Fuente-Núñez¹, Osmar N Silva², Timothy K Lu¹, Octavio Luiz Franco³

Affiliations

¹ Synthetic Biology Group, MIT Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Department of Biological Engineering, and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States; Harvard Biophysics Program, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States; The Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, United States.
² S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
³ S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Patologia Molecular, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil; Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: ocfranco@ucb.br.

PMID: 28435091
DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.04.002

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have evolved through billions of years as part of our innate immune system. These agents are produced by various cells throughout the human body and play important roles in our ability to respond to infections. In this review, we outline evidence linking AMP expression with a range of inflammatory and autoimmune human diseases. Finally, we highlight the promise of endogenous AMP induction for the treatment of disease (i.e., host-directed therapy) and briefly mention the different peptide drugs that are currently undergoing clinical trials.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs); Host-directed therapy; Immune modulation; Infectious diseases; Inflammation; Synthetic peptides; Vitamin D.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adaptive Immunity
Anti-Infective Agents / therapeutic use
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / immunology*
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / therapeutic use
Humans
Immunity, Innate
Immunologic Factors / therapeutic use
Immunotherapy

Substances

Anti-Infective Agents
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
Immunologic Factors