Midkine: A Player in Innate Immunity

摘要: The immune system of humans can be viewed as two parallel and communicating units, i.e. innate adaptive immunity. Innate immunity provides a readily available, sometimes inducible, less specific defense against potentially harmful pathogens the environment. Adaptive is slower, highly via production immunoglobulins, has an immunologic memory (e.g. seen in vaccination). mechanisms functions have caught increasing attention recent years. An important part, executing antimicrobial activity immunity, polypeptides (AMPs). Midkine shares several features with AMPs, including cationicity at physiological pH, heparin-binding properties, domains containing anti-parallel β-sheets (similar to classical AMPs β-defensins), expression by epithelial cells. In addition, midkine recruits activates neutrophils, acts growth factor, shared many AMPs. Recently, was shown strong bactericidal both gram-positive gram-negative bacteria vitro, exerted through membrane-disrupting properties. Bactericidal also found early midkine-orthologue Miple2 Drosophila melanogaster, indicating conserved antibacterial this small family molecules during evolution. review, we discuss context general particularly AMP.