Host-defense peptides and their potential use as biomarkers in human diseases.

Host-defense peptides and their potential use as biomarkers in human diseases. Drug Discov Today. 2018 May 24;: Authors: Silva ON, Porto WF, Ribeiro SM, Batista I, Franco OL Abstract Since the early 19th century, it has been known that host-defense peptides (HDPs) have a crucial role in innate host defense. Subsequent work has demonstrated their role in adaptive immunity as well as their involvement in different inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. In addition to these multiple functional activities, several studies have shown that HDP accumulation might be correlated with various human diseases and, therefore, could be used as a biomarker of such diseases. Thus, research has aimed to validate the clinical use of HDPs for diagnosis, prognosis, and further treatment. In this review, we outline the most recent findings related to the use of HDPs as biomarkers, their clinical and epidemiological value, and the techniques used to determine the levels of HDPs. PMID: 29803935 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Drug Discovery Today - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Drug Discov Today Source Type: research