Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of host defense peptides against Staphylococcus aureus

Leonardo Cecotto*, Kok van Kessel, Margreet A. Wolfert, Charles Vogely, Bart van der Wal, Harrie Weinans, Jos van Strijp, Saber Amin Yavari

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
33 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Cationic host defense peptides (HDPs) are a promising alternative to antibiotics in the fight against Staphylococcus aureus infections. In this study, we investigated the antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties of three HDPs namely IDR-1018, CATH-2, and LL-37. Although all three HDPs significantly inhibited LPS-induced activation of human macrophages, only CATH-2 prevented S. aureus growth. When applied to different infection models focused on intracellularly surviving bacteria, only IDR-1018 showed a consistent reduction in macrophage bacterial uptake. However, this observation did not correlate with an increase in killing the efficiency of intracellular S. aureus. Here, we conclude that despite the promising antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of the selected HDPs, macrophages’ intrinsic antibacterial functions were not improved. Future studies should either focus on combining different HDPs or using them synergistically with other antibacterial agents to improve immune cells’ efficacy against S. aureus pathogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105211
Number of pages17
JournaliScience
Volume25
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Immunology
  • Microbiology

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