Antibiotic proteins of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
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Gabay JE, Scott RW, Campanelli D, Griffith J, Wilde C, Marra MN, Seeger M, Nathan CF
Antibiotic proteins of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jul;86(14):5610-4.
- PubMed ID
- 2501794 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Nine polypeptide peaks with antibiotic activity were resolved from human polymorphonuclear leukocyte azurophil granule membranes. All but 1 of the 12 constituent polypeptides were identified by N-terminal sequence analysis. Near quantitative recovery of protein and activity permitted an assessment of the contribution of each species to the overall respiratory-burst-independent antimicrobial capacity of the cell. Three uncharacterized polypeptides were discovered, including two broad-spectrum antibiotics. One of these, a defensin that we have designated human neutrophil antimicrobial peptide 4, was more potent than previously described defensins but represented less than 1% of the total protein. The other, named azurocidin, was abundant and comparable to bactericidal permeability-increasing factor in its contribution to the killing of Escherichia coli.