Human Chemokines as Antimicrobial Peptides with Direct Parasiticidal Effect on Leishmania mexicana In Vitro

Söbirk, Sara K and Mörgelin, Matthias and Egesten, Arne and Bates, Paul and Shannon, Oonagh and Collin, Mattias (2013) Human Chemokines as Antimicrobial Peptides with Direct Parasiticidal Effect on Leishmania mexicana In Vitro. PLoS ONE, 8 (3): e58129.

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Abstract

Chemokines and chemokine receptor-mediated effects are important mediators of the immunological response and cure in human leishmaniasis. However, in addition to their signalling properties for leukocytes, many chemokines have also been shown to act directly as antimicrobial peptides on bacteria and fungi. We screened ten human chemokines (CXCL2, CXCL6, CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10, CCL2, CCL3, CCL20, CCL27, CCL28) for antimicrobial effects on the promastigote form of the protozoan parasite Leishmania mexicana, and observed direct parasiticidal effects of several, CCL28 being the most potent. Damage to the plasma membrane integrity could be visualised by entrance of propidium iodide, as measured with flow cytometry, and by scanning electron microscopy, which showed morphological changes and aggregation of cells. The findings were in concordance with parasiticidal activity, measured by decreased mitochondrial activity in an MTT-assay. This is the first report of direct antimicrobial activity by chemokines on parasites. This component of immunity against Leishmania parasites identified here warrants further investigation that might lead to new insight in the mechanisms of human infection and/or new therapeutic approaches.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
PLoS ONE
Additional Information:
© 2013 Söbirk et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100
Subjects:
?? agricultural and biological sciences(all)biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology(all)medicine(all) ??
ID Code:
63258
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
05 Apr 2013 08:04
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
24 Mar 2024 00:41