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Role of Cathelicidin Peptides in Bovine Host Defense and Healing

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Abstract

The in vitro antimicrobial activities and biological effects on host cells were compared for the bovine cathelicidins BMAP-28, an alpha-helical AMP, and Bac5 and Bac7, proline-rich AMPs. Our results confirm that the broad-spectrum activity of BMAP-28 correlates with a high capacity to interact with and permeabilize bacterial membranes, whereas the proline-rich AMPs selectively internalize into the cytoplasm of susceptible Gram-negative bacteria with a non-lytic mechanism. All peptides efficiently translocated into mammalian fibroblastic cells, but while Bac5 and Bac7(1–35) localized to nuclear structures and induced cellular proliferation, BMAP-28 associated with mitochondria and did not induce proliferation. Moreover, BMAP-28 was considerably more cytotoxic than the proline-rich peptides due to cytolytic and pro-apoptotic effects. Our results highlight important functional differences among the bovine cathelicidins and suggest that they contribute to an integrated response of the host to infection, with distinct but complementary activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Science and Biotechnology, University of Udine, Udine, Italy

    Linda Tomasinsig, Barbara Skerlavaj & Margherita Zanetti

  2. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Monica Benincasa, Marco Scocchi, Alessandro Tossi & Renato Gennaro

Authors
  1. Linda Tomasinsig
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  2. Monica Benincasa
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  3. Marco Scocchi
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  4. Barbara Skerlavaj
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  5. Alessandro Tossi
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  6. Margherita Zanetti
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  7. Renato Gennaro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessandro Tossi.

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Tomasinsig, L., Benincasa, M., Scocchi, M. et al. Role of Cathelicidin Peptides in Bovine Host Defense and Healing. Probiotics & Antimicro. Prot. 2, 12–20 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-010-9035-6

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