Human β-defensins (HBDs) are antimicrobial peptides that may play a role in mucosal defense. Diminished activity of these peptides has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. We show that HBD-1 and HBD-2 mRNAs are expressed in excised surface and submucosal gland epithelia from non-CF and CF patients. The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β stimulated the expression of HBD-2 but not HBD-1 mRNA and peptide in primary cultures of airway epithelia. HBD-1 was found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from normal volunteers, CF patients, and patients with inflammatory lung diseases, whereas HBD-2 was detected in BAL fluid from patients with CF or inflammatory lung diseases, but not in normal volunteers. Both HBD-1 and HBD-2 were found in BAL fluid in concentrations of several ng/ml, and both recombinant peptides showed salt-sensitive bactericidal activity. These data suggest that in the lung HBD-2 expression is induced by inflammation, whereas HBD-1 may serve as a defense in the absence of inflammation.

The three human ␤-defensins, HBD1-3, are 33-47-residue, cationic antimicrobial proteins expressed by epithelial cells. All three proteins have broad spectrum antimicrobial activity, with HBD3 consistently being the most potent. Additionally, HBD3 has significant bactericidal activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus at physiological salt concentrations. We have compared the multimeric state of the three ␤-defensins using NMR diffusion spectroscopy, dynamic and static light scattering, and analysis of the migration of the three ␤-defensins on a native gel. All three techniques are in agreement, suggesting that HBD-3 is a dimer, while HBD-1 and HBD-2 are monomeric. Subsequently, the NMR solution structures of HBD1 and HBD3 were determined using standard homonuclear techniques and compared with the previously determined solution structure of HBD2. Both HBD1 and HBD3 form well defined structures with backbone root mean square deviations of 0.451 and 0.616 Å, respectively. The tertiary structures of all three ␤-defensins are similar, with a short helical segment preceding a three-stranded antiparallel ␤-sheet. The surface charge density of each of the defensins is markedly different, with the surface of HBD3 significantly more basic. Analysis of the NMR data and structures led us to suggest that HBD3 forms a symmetrical dimer through strand ␤2 of the ␤-sheet. The increased anti-Staphylococcal activity of HBD3 may be explained by the capacity of the protein to form dimers in solution at low concentrations, an amphipathic dimer structure, and the increased positive surface charge compared with HBD1 and HBD2.Antimicrobial peptides have been shown to be key elements in the innate immune system of many organisms, presenting the first line of defense against invading microbes. In many vertebrates the primary family of antimicrobial peptides are the defensins, produced in neutrophils and epithelial cells (1, 2), although related proteins are also found in insects and plants (2, 3). Defensins are small, 3-5 kDa cationic proteins constrained by three disulfide bonds. As a class of proteins, they have broad microbicidal activity against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, yeast, and some enveloped viruses, although specific defensin peptides often have defined spectra of activity (2). Like many other antimicrobial peptides (4), the defensin class of peptides is known to disrupt the membranes of microbes (5-7). It has recently been reported that in addition to their antimicrobial activity, defensins may act as chemokines, activating the adaptive immune response (8 -10).The ␣-defensins were the first characterized human defensins (11), including the human neutrophil proteins HNP1-3, which are stored in neutrophil granules and are released after phagocytosis of an invading bacterium. The isolation of the inducible tracheal antimicrobial protein from epithelial cells (12) and the subsequent discovery of 13 peptides stored in the granules of bovine neutrophils (13) represented a second class of defensins termed the ␤-d...

Endogenous antimicrobial peptides of the cathelicidin family contribute to innate immunity. The emergence of widespread antibiotic resistance in many commonly encountered bacteria requires the search for new bactericidal agents with therapeutic potential. Solid-phase synthesis was employed to prepare linear antimicrobial peptides found in cathelicidins of five mammals: human (FALL39/LL37), rabbit (CAP18), mouse (mCRAMP), rat (rCRAMP), and sheep (SMAP29 and SMAP34). These peptides were tested at ionic strengths of 25 and 175 mM against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Each peptide manifested activity against P. aeruginosa irrespective of the NaCl concentration. CAP18 and SMAP29 were the most effective peptides of the group against all test organisms under both lowand high-salt conditions. Select peptides of 15 to 21 residues, modeled on CAP18 (37 residues), retained activity against the gram-negative bacteria and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, although the bactericidal activity was reduced compared to that of the parent peptide. In accordance with the behavior of the parent molecule, the truncated peptides adopted an ␣-helical structure in the presence of trifluoroethanol or lipopolysaccharide. The relationship between the bactericidal activity and several physiochemical properties of the cathelicidins was examined. The activities of the full-length peptides correlated positively with a predicted gradient of hydrophobicity along the peptide backbone and with net positive charge; they correlated inversely with relative abundance of anionic residues. The salt-resistant, antimicrobial properties of CAP18 and SMAP29 suggest that these peptides or congeneric structures have potential for the treatment of bacterial infections in normal and immunocompromised persons and individuals with cystic fibrosis.The rapidly expanding prevalence of bacterial strains resistant to conventional antibiotics has prompted a search for new therapeutic agents, including various antimicrobial peptides of animal origin (15). Two broad classes of mammalian antibacterial peptides have been especially well studied: the cysteinerich ␣-and ␤-defensins and various cathelicidins (6,13,22,26,27,41,42). Both classes are produced as precursors that require proteolytic processing to generate the mature antimicrobial peptide. Cathelicidins contain an N-terminal domain called cathelin, for which no function has yet been ascribed, and a C-terminal domain that comprises an antimicrobial peptide (reviewed in references 41 and 42). While the cathelin domains are highly conserved across species, the C-terminal antimicrobial domains are structurally diverse. The first cathelicidin precursor to be described was rabbit CAP18 (20), and its mature peptide was shown to have broad-spectrum bactericidal activity (19). Homologs of CAP18 have since been identified in other species including humans (FALL39/LL37) (1, 19), mice (mCRAMP) (12, 30), rats (rCRAMP), and sheep (SMAP29 and SMAP34...