Journal
JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY
Volume 128, Issue 6, Pages 1525-1534Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/sj.jid.5701225
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI052453, N01-AI-40029AI48176, R01 AI052453] Funding Source: Medline
- NIAMS NIH HHS [AR45676, R01 AR045676, R01 AR052728-03, R01 AR052728] Funding Source: Medline
- PHS HHS [HHSN26620040029C] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Epithelia establish a microbial barrier against infection through the production of antimicrobial peptides ( AMPs). In this study, we investigated whether catestatin ( Cst), a peptide derived from the neuroendocrine protein chromogranin A (CHGA), is a functional AMP and is present in the epidermis. We show that Cst is antimicrobial against relevant skin microbes, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeast, and fungi. The antimicrobial mechanism of Cst was found to be similar to other AMPs, as it was dependent on bacterial charge and growth conditions, and induced membrane disruption. The potential relevance of Cst against skin pathogens was supported by the observation that CHGA was expressed in keratinocytes. In human skin, CHGA was found to be proteolytically processed into the antimicrobial fragment Cst, thus enabling its AMP function. Furthermore, Cst expression in murine skin increased in response to injury and infection, providing potential for increased protection against infection. These data demonstrate that a neuroendocrine peptide has antimicrobial function against a wide assortment of skin pathogens and is upregulated upon injury, thus demonstrating a direct link between the neuroendocrine and cutaneous immune systems.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available