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Innate immunity

CRAMPing bacterial style

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 4, page 570 (2006)Cite this article

Only one cathelicidin gene has been identified in humans (CAMP), and one in mice (Camp). LL-37, the active AMP produced from the cathelicidin precursor CAP18 in humans, and CRAMP, the murine equivalent of LL-37, preferentially bind to the negatively charged groups on bacterial membranes, causing damage. Both LL-37 and CRAMP kill bacteria immediately after they attach to and colonize the epithelial cells, thereby keeping the urinary-tract lining sterile.

Using CRAMP-deficient mice, Chromek et al. demonstrate that the initial defence against attaching bacteria was dependent on epithelium-derived cathelicidin. They found that CRAMP-deficient mice were substantially compromised and had a higher infection rate that was not attributable to neutrophil-derived cathelicidin. Further analysis revealed that significantly more bacteria survived when attached to the bladders of CRAMP-deficient mice compared with the control mice. However, once infection had been established, neutrophil-derived cathelicidin was shown to influence the severity of the infection. This indicates that CRAMP is involved in different immune processes throughout the course of a urinary-tract infection.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Chromek, M. et al. The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin protects the urinary tract against invasive bacterial infection. Nature Med. 12, 636–641 (2006)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Peschel, A. & Sahl H. -G. The co-evolution of host cationic antimicrobial peptides and microbial resistance. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 4, 529–536 (2006)

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Authors
  1. Elinor Faulkner
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Faulkner, E. CRAMPing bacterial style. Nat Rev Microbiol 4, 570 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1463

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