2. Academic Validation
  3. Diversity, immunoregulatory action and structure-activity relationship of green sea turtle cathelicidins

Diversity, immunoregulatory action and structure-activity relationship of green sea turtle cathelicidins

  • Dev Comp Immunol. 2019 Sep:98:189-204. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2019.05.005.
Xue Qiao 1,  Huaixin Yang 1,  Jiuxiang Gao 1,  Fen Zhang 2,  Peng Chu 1,  Yongliang Yang 1,  Minghui Zhang 2,  Yipeng Wang 3,  Haining Yu 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning, 116024, China.
  • 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
  • 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 4 School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning, 116024, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 31121185 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2019.05.005
Abstract

Cathelicidins are a family of gene-encoded immune effectors in vertebrate innate immunity. Here, we reported the diversity and biological activity of cathelicidins in green sea turtle, a marine reptile species known for long lifespan and disease resistance. Four novel cathelicidins (Cm-CATH1-4) were identified from green sea turtle. All of them, especially Cm-CATH2, exhibited potent, broad-spectrum and rapid bactericidal and anti-biofilm activities by inducing the disruption of cell membrane integrity. Additionally, Cm-CATH2 effectively induced the macrophages/monocytes and neutrophils trafficking to the Infection site, and inhibited the LPS-induced production of inflammatory cytokines, by blocking TLR4/MD2 complex and the downstream signaling pathway activation. In mouse peritonitis and pneumonia models, Cm-CATH2 exhibited evident protection against drug-resistant Bacterial infections. Taken together, the diverse structures and functions of Cm-CATHs indicated their pleiotropic role in innate immunity of green sea turtle, and the potent antimicrobial, anti-biofilm and immunomodulatory properties make them ideal candidates for the development of novel anti-infective drugs.

Keywords

Antimicrobial; Cathelicidin; Chelonia mydas; Host defense peptides (HDPs); Immunomodulatory; TLR4-MD2 complex.

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