The role of antimicrobial peptides in defending the urinary tract against infections

Abstract

With antibiotic resistance increasing and new microbial resistance factors forming, the problem of creating new methods to treat and prevent the urinary tract infections becomes topical. The latest studies showed that urothelium contains a large number of immune factors providing its protection against the adverse effects of various uropathogens in vivo. There are very promising molecules – antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) – in terms of further therapeutic use among the components of inborn immunity. AMPs are the evolutionarily oldest molecules of innate immunity. The article discusses current data on the presence of various classes of AMPs in the urinary system, demonstrates data on their effectiveness as therapeutic agents against UTI, and describes further prospects for their use in the GP practice.

Keywords

• urinary tract infection
• inborn immunity
• antimicrobial peptides
• biocenoses preserving therapy
• defensins
• cathelicidin
• canephron n