Differential activity of innate defense antimicrobial peptides against Nocardia species.
Rieg. Siegbert S; Meier. Benjamin B; Fähnrich. Eva E; Huth. Anja A; Wagner. Dirk D; Kern. Winfried V WV; Kalbacher. Hubert H
Key Findings
- N. farcinica and N. nova are killed by all tested human and bovine antimicrobial peptides, including LL‑37.
- N. asteroides is only killed by human neutrophil alpha‑defensins (HNP‑1‑3) and bovine indolicidin, not by LL‑37.
- N. brasiliensis resists all human peptides and is only susceptible to bovine indolicidin.
Practical Outcomes
- For self‑experimenters, the data suggest that boosting neutrophil‑derived peptides (e.g., via vitamin D or other immune‑support strategies) may provide broader protection against Nocardia infections than relying on LL‑37 alone. However, the findings are specific to bacterial infections and do not translate into direct longevity or performance protocols.
Summary
The study shows that the antibacterial peptide LL-37 and other natural defense proteins can kill some Nocardia bacteria, but their effectiveness depends on the exact species. Human neutrophil peptides (HNP‑1‑3) and a bovine peptide called indolicidin work best across several strains, while LL‑37 is less consistently effective.
Abstract
Members of the genus Nocardia are ubiquitous environmental saprophytes capable to cause human pulmonary, disseminated and cutaneous nocardiosis or bovine mastitis. Innate immunity appears to play an important role in early defense against Nocardia species. To elucidate the contribution of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in innate defense against Nocardia, the activity of human alpha-defensins human neutrophil peptides (HNPs) 1-3, human beta-defensin (hBD)-3 and cathelicidin LL-37 as well as bovine beta-defensins lingual and tracheal antimicrobial peptides (LAP, TAP) and bovine neutrophil-derived indolicidin against four important Nocardia species was investigated. Whereas N. farcinica ATCC 3318 and N. nova ATCC 33726 were found to be susceptible to all investigated human and bovine AMPs, N. asteroides ATCC 19247 was killed exclusively by neutrophil-derived human alpha-defensins HNP 1-3 and bovine indolicidin. N. brasiliensis ATCC 19296 was found to exhibit complete resistance to investigated human AMPs and to be susceptible only to bovine indolicidin. Selected AMPs are capable to contribute to the first line of defense against Nocardia, yet, susceptibility appears to vary across different Nocardia species. Obtained results of neutrophil-derived AMPs to possess the broadest antinocardial spectrum are remarkable, since nocardiosis is characterized by a neutrophil-rich infiltrate in vivo.
Study Information
pubmed
2010
2010-02-23T00:00:00.000Z
10.1186/1471-2180-10-61
20
33