Host Defense Peptides in the Oral Cavity

Peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity are found in the mucosal surfaces at many sites in the body, including the airway, the oral cavity, and the digestive tract. Based on their in vitro antimicrobial and other immunomodulatory activities, these host defense peptides have been proposed to play an important role in the innate defense against pathogenic microbial colonization. The genes that encode these peptides are up-regulated by pathogens, further supporting their role in innate immune defense. However, the differences in the local microbial environments between the generally sterile airway and the highly colonized oral cavity suggest a more complex role for these peptides in innate immunity. For example, β-defensin genes are induced in the airway by all bacteria and Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists primarily through an NF-κB-mediated pathway. In contrast, the same genes are induced in the gingival epithelium by only a subset of bacteria and TLR ligands, via different pathways. Furthermore, the environments into which the peptides are secreted—specifically saliva, gingival crevicular fluid, and airway surface fluid—differ greatly and can effect their respective activities in host defense. In this review, we examine the differences and similarities between host defense peptides in the oral cavity and the airway, to gain a better understanding of their contributions to immunity.

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Geographically Distinct Expression Profile of Host Defense Peptides in the Skin of the Chinese Odorous Frog, Odorrana margaretae

Asian Herpetological Research ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1245.2013.00288 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 288-297

Author(s):

LING Guiying ◽

LI Li ◽

GAO Jiuxiang ◽

YU Haining ◽

WANG Yipeng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Defense ◽

Expression Profile ◽

Host Defense Peptides ◽

Defense Peptides

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Human Host Defense Peptides - Role in Maintaining Human Homeostasis and Pathological Processes

Current Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/0929867323666161213100443 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (7) ◽

pp. 654-672 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Malgorzata Anna Dawgul ◽

Katarzyna E. Greber ◽

Wieslaw Sawicki ◽

Wojciech Kamysz

Keyword(s):

Host Defense ◽

Host Defense Peptides ◽

Human Host ◽

Defense Peptides

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Mechanistic Fingerprinting Reveals Kinetic Signatures of Resistance to Daptomycin and Host Defense Peptides in Streptococcus mitis-oralis

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10040404 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 404

Author(s):

Michael R. Yeaman ◽

Liana C. Chan ◽

Nagendra N. Mishra ◽

Arnold S. Bayer

Keyword(s):

Flow Cytometry ◽

Host Defense ◽

Durable Resistance ◽

Cross Resistance ◽

Streptococcus Mitis ◽

Host Defense Peptides ◽

Strain Pair ◽

Defense Peptides

Streptococcus mitis-oralis (S. mitis-oralis) infections are increasingly prevalent in specific populations, including neutropenic cancer and endocarditis patients. S. mitis-oralis strains have a propensity to evolve rapid, high-level and durable resistance to daptomycin (DAP-R) in vitro and in vivo, although the mechanism(s) involved remain incompletely defined. We examined mechanisms of DAP-R versus cross-resistance to cationic host defense peptides (HDPs), using an isogenic S. mitis-oralis strain-pair: (i) DAP-susceptible (DAP-S) parental 351-WT (DAP MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), and its (ii) DAP-R variant 351-D10 (DAP MIC > 256 µg/mL). DAP binding was quantified by flow cytometry, in-parallel with temporal (1–4 h) killing by either DAP or comparative prototypic cationic HDPs (hNP-1; LL-37). Multicolor flow cytometry was used to determine kinetic cell responses associated with resistance or susceptibility to these molecules. While overall DAP binding was similar between strains, a significant subpopulation of 351-D10 cells hyper-accumulated DAP (>2–4-fold vs. 351-WT). Further, both DAP and hNP-1 induced cell membrane (CM) hyper-polarization in 351-WT, corresponding to significantly greater temporal DAP-killing (vs. 351-D10). No strain-specific differences in CM permeabilization, lipid turnover or regulated cell death were observed post-exposure to DAP, hNP-1 or LL-37. Thus, the adaptive energetics of the CM appear coupled to the outcomes of interactions of S. mitis-oralis with DAP and selected HDPs. In contrast, altered CM permeabilization, proposed as a major mechanism of action of both DAP and HDPs, did not differentiate DAP-S vs. DAP-R phenotypes in this S. mitis-oralis strain-pair.

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