| Autor: |
YOSHIO, HIROYUKI, TOLLIN, MARIA, GUDMUNDSSON, GUDMUNDUR H., LAGERCRANTZ, HUGO, JÖRNVALL, HANS, MARCHINI, GIOVANNA, AGERBERTH, BIRGITTA |
| Zdroj: |
Pediatric Research (Ovid); February 2003, Vol. 53 Issue: 2 p211-216, 6p |
| Abstrakt: |
Antimicrobial peptidesproteins are widespread in nature and play a critical role in host defense. To investigate whether these components contribute to surface protection of newborns at birth, we have characterized antimicrobial polypeptides in vernix caseosavernix and amniotic fluid AF. Concentrated peptideprotein extracts were obtained from 11 samples of vernix and six samples of AF and analyzed for antimicrobial activity using an inhibition zone assay. Proteinspeptides in all vernix extracts exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Bacillus megateriumstrain Bm11, in addition to antifungal activity against Candida albicans, whereas AFderived proteinspeptides showed only the former activity. Fractions obtained after separation by reversephase HPLC exhibited antibacterial activity, with the most pronounced activity in a fraction containing defensins HNP13. The presence of HNP13 was proved by dot blot analysis and confirmed by mass spectrometry. Lysozyme and ubiquitin were identified by sequence analysis in two fractions with antibacterial activity. Fractions of vernix and AF were also positive for LL37 with dot blot and Western blot analyses, and one fraction apparently contained an extended form of LL37. Interestingly, psoriasin, a calciumbinding protein that is upregulated in psoriatic skin and was found recently to exhibit antimicrobial activity, was characterized in the vernix extract. The presence of all of these antimicrobial polypeptides in vernix suggests that they are important for surface defense and may have an active biologic role against microbial invasion at birth. |
| Databáze: |
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