Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were firstly discovered as cytotoxic substances that killed bacteria. Later they were described as biologically active peptides that are able not only to kill invaders but also to modulate host immunity. In particular, it is shown that human antimicrobial peptides are able to influence the activity of different innate and adaptive immunity components, thus, obviously, they also participate in autoimmune processes. In this review we discuss the nature of human AMPs and analyze their role in such autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and sarcoidosis. These peptides were shown to have a “double-sided” influence on the autoimmune disease pathogenesis. Thus, described facts should be taken into account for the development of new pharmaceutical agents to cure patients with autoimmune disorders. These agents could derive from natural antimicrobial peptides that in some cases modulate immune response. For example, it was shown that human AMPs are able to modulate complement system dysregulation of which is known to be one of the most dangerous pathogenic factors during autoimmune processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-147
Number of pages11
JournalAutoimmunity
Volume53
Issue number3
Early online date1 Jan 2020
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Apr 2020

    Research areas

  • antimicrobial peptides, Autoimmune diseases, cathelicidins, α-defensins, β-defensins, RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS, HUMAN CATHELICIDIN, ALPHA-DEFENSINS, POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTE LYSOSOMES, BACTERICIDAL/PERMEABILITY-INCREASING PROTEIN, PLASMACYTOID DENDRITIC CELLS, HOST-DEFENSE PEPTIDE, alpha-defensins, HUMAN NEUTROPHIL PEPTIDES, ARTICULAR-CARTILAGE, HUMAN BETA-DEFENSIN-2, beta-defensins

    Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

ID: 53114689