title: Multifunctional cationic host defence peptides and their clinical applications.
abstract: With the rapid rise in the emergence of bacterial strains resistant to multiple classes of antimicrobial agents, there is an urgent need to develop novel antimicrobial therapies to combat these pathogens. Cationic host defence peptides (HDPs) and synthetic derivatives termed innate defence regulators (IDRs) represent a promising alternative approach in the treatment of microbial-related diseases. Cationic HDPs (also termed antimicrobial peptides) have emerged from their origins as nature's antibiotics and are widely distributed in organisms from insects to plants to mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. Although their original and primary function was proposed to be direct antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, parasites and/or viruses, cationic HDPs are becoming increasingly recognized as multifunctional mediators, with both antimicrobial activity and diverse immunomodulatory properties. Here we provide an overview of the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities of cationic HDPs, and discuss their potential application as beneficial therapeutics in overcoming infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research, University of British Columbia, Room 232, 2259 Lower Mall Research Station, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: Amy T Y
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.forename: Shaan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gellatly
authors.forename: Robert E W
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hancock
mesh_terms: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056747:Immunomodulation
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D007155:Immunologic Factors