Oral inflammation, a role for antimicrobial peptide modulation of cytokine and chemokine responses

Abstract

Acute and chronic inflammation commonly occurs throughout the oral cavity. The most common causes are physical damage and microbial infections, and less frequently immune reactions and malignant changes. All of these processes result in the induction of antimicrobial peptides, chemokines and cytokines that lead to cellular infiltrates, a vascular response, tissue destruction and cellular proliferation. A fascinating concept developing in the current literature suggests that antimicrobial peptides modulate the production of chemokines, cytokines and other cellular mediators and that this may have a larger ramification as an underlying mechanism mediating inflammation. Here, we propose that the ability of antimicrobial peptides to induce chemokines and anti-inflammatory or proinflammatory cytokines plays an important role in the early events of oral inflammation and may be a target for the prevention or treatment of oral inflammatory conditions.

Keywords::

• antimicrobial peptides
• chemokines
• cytokines
• defensins
• HBD3
• innate immunity
• oral inflammation

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by funds from RO1 DEO14390 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health. KA Brogden, GK Johnson and SD Vincent declare no competing financial interests. T Abbasi and S Vali work for Cellworks Group, Inc., 2025 Gateway Place, Suite 265, San Jose, CA 95110, USA whose company is developing the models to identify signaling pathways for potential control of inflammation that will be used to identify current anti-inflammatory drugs that may have future commercial potential. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• • Oral inflammation can result from physical damage and microbial infections to tissues, and less frequently immune reactions and malignant changes.

• • The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions and inflammation ranges from 15.0 to 66.2% and varies by the type and underlying cause differing significantly by age, sex, race, ethnicity, denture use and tobacco use.

• • Inflammation is also accompanied with the presence of antimicrobial peptides, chemokines and cytokines in inflamed tissues and oral secretions.

• • Antimicrobial peptides can have anti-inflammatory or proinflammatory activities.

• • The ability of antimicrobial peptides to attenuate or enhance agonist-induced chemokine and cytokine responses in cells may be used as a tool to therapeutically control early events in the pathogenesis of inflammation.

• • More likely, models of the mechanisms of antimicrobial peptide attenuated or enhanced chemokine and cytokine responses will help us to identify pathways for potential control of inflammation and serve as platforms for the identification of current anti-inflammatory drugs that may have future potential.

Notes