Midkine and pleiotrophin have bactericidal properties: preserved antibacterial activity in a family of heparin-binding growth factors during evolution.

ABSTRACT: Antibacterial peptides of the innate immune system combat pathogenic microbes, but often have additional roles in promoting inflammation and as growth factors during tissue repair. Midkine (MK) and pleiotrophin (PTN) are the only two members of a family of heparin-binding growth factors. They show restricted expression during embryogenesis and are up-regulated in neoplasia. In addition, MK shows constitutive and inflammation-dependent expression in some non-transformed tissues of the adult. In the present study, we show that both MK and PTN display strong antibacterial activity, present at physiological salt concentrations. Electron microscopy of bacteria and experiments using artificial lipid bilayers suggest that MK and PTN exert their antibacterial action via a membrane disruption mecha

SUBMITTER: Svensson SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2871479 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature