Host Defense Peptides and the New Line of Defence Against Multiresistant Infections

Lars      Steinstraesser; Tobias      Hirsch; Frank      Jacobsen; Hans-Ulrich      Steinau

Abstract

Increasing antibiotic resistance has led to an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. Host defense peptides are known to be antimicrobial and have revealed broad immunomodulatory functions for both innate and adaptive immunity. This review will focus on the role of host defense peptides in infection and immune response and discuss its potential and limitations as a future therapeutical agent.

Keywords: Host defense peptides, bacterial infection, innate immune system, defensins, cathelicidins, munomodulation, anitbacterial activity