title: Mammalian host defense peptides and their implication on combating Leishmania infection.
abstract: Infection with parasites of the genus Leishmania is a health problem in many countries around the world. No effective vaccine is available against leishmaniasis, so chemotherapy is the only alternative for treatment of all forms of the disease. However, drawbacks including toxicity and severe adverse reactions restrain the use of currently available chemotherapeutics. Therefore development of new drugs and therapeutic approaches is highly demanded. Mammalian host defense peptides (mHDP) and/or mammalian antimicrobial peptides (mAMP) are among promising compounds considered effective to control the infectious diseases. These are potential multifunctional molecules that modulate the immune response besides direct killing of pathogens. Here we have reviewed the hallmark characteristics of the mHDPs in respect to the potential role they can play against leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abdossamadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Negar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seyed
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: sima-rafatisy@pasteur.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rafati
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D056747:Immunomodulation; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D007891:Leishmania / Q000276:immunology*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D008322:Mammals / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
keywords: Leishmania; Mammalian antimicrobial peptides; Mammalian host defense peptides; Therapy