Antimicrobial polypeptides are widely distributed effectors of host defense in animals and plants. They include enzymes that digest vital microbial structures (e.g., lysozyme, neutrophil elastase, phospholipase A2), substances that bind and sequester iron or other essential nutrients (e.g., lacto-ferrin), and polypeptides that insert into and disrupt microbial membranes (e.g., bactericidal permeability-inducing protein, defensins, cathelicidins; references 1 and 2). Despite their diverse sizes, structures, and mechanisms of action, nearly all antimicrobial proteins and peptides have a net cationic (positive) charge. It is thought that the electrostatic attraction of cationic polypeptides increases the deposition of the polypeptides onto the negatively charged microbial surfaces and thereby promotes their effectiveness. In support of this model, the activity of most but not all antimicrobial polypeptides is competitively inhibited by increasing the ionic strength of the medium 3,4,5 whose solute...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
7 May 2001
Commentary|
May 07 2001
Fatal Attraction Evaded: How Pathogenic Bacteria Resist Cationic Polypeptides
Tomas Ganz
Tomas Ganz
aDepartment of Medicine and the Department of Pathology, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095
Search for other works by this author on:
Tomas Ganz
aDepartment of Medicine and the Department of Pathology, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095
Received:
April 02 2001
Accepted:
April 09 2001
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
© 2001 The Rockefeller University Press
2001
The Rockefeller University Press
J Exp Med (2001) 193 (9): F31–F34.
Article history
Received:
April 02 2001
Accepted:
April 09 2001
Citation
Tomas Ganz; Fatal Attraction Evaded: How Pathogenic Bacteria Resist Cationic Polypeptides. J Exp Med 7 May 2001; 193 (9): F31–F34. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.193.9.F31
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionSuggested Content
Email alerts
Advertisement