Figure 1.

AMPs’ immune-regulating pathways. On the one hand, AMPs can stimulate immune cells in the natural immune system, including mast cells, NK cells, neutrophils, and macrophages; they can also cause the creation of cytokines (green balls) and chemokines (red balls), which in turn can engulf and destroy infections. However, by stimulating dendritic cells to deliver antigens to T cells and triggering the activation of cytotoxic T cells to eliminate infections, antimicrobial peptides can also trigger adaptive immune responses.