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Protecting the boundary: the sentinel role of host defense peptides in the skin

  • Multi-author review
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Abstract

The skin is our primary shield against microbial pathogens and has evolved innate and adaptive strategies to enhance immunity in response to injury or microbial insult. The study of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production in mammalian skin has revealed several of the elegant strategies that AMPs use to prevent infection. AMPs are inducible by both infection and injury and protect the host by directly killing pathogens and/or acting as multifunctional effector molecules that trigger cellular responses to aid in the anti-infective and repair response. Depending on the specific AMP, these molecules can influence cytokine production, cell migration, cell proliferation, differentiation, angiogenesis and wound healing. Abnormal production of AMPs has been associated with the pathogenesis of several cutaneous diseases and plays a role in determining a patient’s susceptibility to pathogens. This review will discuss current research on the regulation and function of AMPs in the skin and in skin disorders.

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Abbreviations

AMPs:

Antimicrobial peptides

HBDs:

Human beta-defensins

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

LTA:

Lipoteichoic acid

MapK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

PSMs:

Phenol-soluble modulins

TLR:

Toll-like receptor

VDR:

Vitamin D receptor

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  1. Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, Mail code 0869, San Diego, CA, 92126, USA

    Jamie J. Bernard & Richard L. Gallo

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  1. Jamie J. Bernard
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Bernard, J.J., Gallo, R.L. Protecting the boundary: the sentinel role of host defense peptides in the skin. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 68, 2189–2199 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-011-0712-8

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