Cathelicidin-deficient mice exhibit increased survival and upregulation of key inflammatory response genes following cecal ligation and puncture.

Antimicrobial peptides possess a myriad of molecular properties including bacterial killing and the regulation of many aspects of innate immunity. Cathelicidins are a group of antimicrobial peptides widely investigated by the scientific community. Many studies have focused on the bactericidal and pro-inflammatory roles of cathelicidins. Because the role of endogenous cathelicidin expression remains obscure in deep-seated systemic infections, we induced sepsis in cathelicidin knockout and wild-type (WT) mice by cecal ligation and puncture, performing transcriptome screening by DNA microarray in conjunction with other immunologic assays. Cathelicidin-deficient mice showed increased survival compared to WT mice in this established experimental model of polymicrobial sepsis, in association with upregulation of certain key inflammatory response genes. Therefore, cathelicidins can exert both pro- and anti-inflammatory activities depending on the disease and cellular context.

KEY MESSAGES: The role of cathelicidin in a CLP model is investigated using cathelicidin-KO mice. Cathelicidin-KO mice show an enhanced immune response and improved survival rates. An anti-inflammatory effect of cathelicidin is likely to be detrimental for CLP. Cathelicidin-KO mice show upregulation of genes associated with increased plasma levels of pro-inflammatory Ils. Cathelicidins appear to have both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties.