Antimicrobial peptides: Old Molecules with New Ideas

Almost 90 years have passed since Alexander Fleming discovered the antimicrobial activity of lysozyme, the first natural antibiotic isolated from our body. Since then, various types of molecules with antibiotic activity have been isolated from animals, insects, plants and bacteria, and their use has revolutionised clinical medicine. So far, more than 1200 types of peptides with antimicrobial activity have been isolated from various cells and tissues, and it appears all living organisms employ these antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in their host defense. In the last decade, innate AMPs produced by mammals have been shown to be essential for the protection of skin and other organs. Their importance is due to their pleiotrophic functions to not only kill microbes but also control host physiological functions such as inflammation, angiogenesis and wound healing. Recent advances in our understanding of the function of AMPs have associated their altered production with various human diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and rosacea. In this review, we summarize the history of AMP biology and provide an overview of recent research progress in this field.