Psoriatic scales: a promising source for the isolation of human skin-derived antimicrobial proteins.
Patients with psoriasis, a chronic, hyperproliferative and noninfectious skin disease, suffer surprisingly fewer cutaneous infections than would be expected. This observation led us to the hypothesis that a local "chemical shield" in the form of antimicrobial proteins provides psoriatic skin with resistance against infection. We subsequently began a systematic analysis of in vitro antimicrobially active proteins in psoriatic-scale extracts. A biochemical approach with rigorous purification and characterization combined with antimicrobial testing identified a number of mostly new human antibiotic peptides and proteins. In this review, we will focus on the most prominent antimicrobial proteins in psoriatic-scale extracts, which we identified as the S100-protein psoriasin, human beta-defensin 2 (hBD-2), RNase 7, lysozyme, and human neutrophil defensin 1-3. Apart from these cutaneous, antimicrobial proteins, only a few others, including hBD-3, have been characterized. A great number of minor antimicrobial proteins await further structural characterization.
Harder
Jürgen
J
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Schittenhelmstr. 7, D-24105 Kiel, Germany. jharder@dermatology.uni-kiel.de
Schröder
Jens-Michael
JM
D006801:Humans; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012867:Skin / Q000503:physiopathology; D023084:alpha-Defensins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*
C422950:DEFB103A protein, human; C106641:DEFB4A protein, human; D023084:alpha-Defensins; D023083:beta-Defensins; C406413:human neutrophil peptide 1; C406416:human neutrophil peptide 2; C406427:human neutrophil peptide 3