Table 1. Modulators of microbial infections identified from human peptide libraries*.
| Peptide | Source | Precursor | Activity | Target | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIRIP | Haemofiltrate | α1-antitrypsin | Blocks HIV-1 fusion peptide | HIV-1 | 8,73 |
| CCL14(9–74) | Haemofiltrate | CCL14 | CCR1, CCR3 and CCR5 agonist | HIV-1 | 6,42 |
| CYVIP | Haemofiltrate | Neutrophil-activating peptide 2 | Binds to heparan sulphate proteoglycans to prevent HCMV entry | HCMV | 64 |
| LEAP1 | Haemofiltrate | None | Microbicidal activity | Bacteria and yeast | 86 |
| hBD1 | Haemofiltrate | None | Microbicidal activity | Gram-negative bacteria | 78,87 |
| hBNP(1–32) | Haemofiltrate | BNP | Microbicidal activity | Bacteria and yeast | 88 |
| Casein-K(63–117) | Milk | Casein K | Microbicidal activity | Bacteria and yeast | 89 |
| Casocidin I | Milk | αs2 casein | Microbicidal activity | E. coli and S. carnosus | 4 |
| GAPDH(2–32) | Placenta | GAPDH | Microbicidal activity | E. coli and C. albicans | 13 |
| hHEMβ(111–146) | Placenta | Haemoglobin β-chain | Microbicidal activity | Bacteria and yeast | 7,90 |
| PAP(248–286) | Semen | PAP | Forms amyloid fibrils that promote HIV-1 infection | Retroviruses | 57 |
| PAP(85–120) | Semen | PAP | Forms amyloid fibrils that promote HIV-1 infection | Retroviruses | 60 |
C. albicans, Candida albicans; CCL14, CC-chemokine ligand 14; CCR, CC-chemokine receptor; CYVIP, a recently discovered derivative of the neutrophil-activating peptide 2; E. coli, Escherichia coli; hBD1, human β-defensin 1; hBNP, human brain-type natriuretic peptide; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; HCMV, human cytomegalovirus; hHEMβ, human β-chain of haemoglobin; LEAP1, liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 1; S. carnosus, Staphylococcus carnosus; PAP, prostatic acid phosphatase; VIRIP, virus-inhibitory peptide.
*This table only lists peptides that have been identified by the systematic screening of human peptide libraries, which is outlined in Fig. 1. Many other important antimicrobial peptides have been discovered by different approaches and are described in recent reviews15,16,17,18. Peptides that are in clinical development or have recently been approved by the FDA are described in Refs 28,29,30,31,91.