Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides: current progress and future prospects in immunotherapy

Aibo Ding; Zhonghua Lu; Jiajing Wu; Zhe Chen; Rui Ding; Kezhen Wang; Yun Sun; Lin Wei

doi:10.1016/j.dci.2026.105642

Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides: current progress and future prospects in immunotherapy

Dev Comp Immunol. 2026 Jun 1:105642. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2026.105642. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Aibo Ding¹, Zhonghua Lu², Jiajing Wu³, Zhe Chen³, Rui Ding³, Kezhen Wang³, Yun Sun⁴, Lin Wei⁵

Affiliations

¹ The First Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China; School of Life Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
² The First Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China.
³ School of Life Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
⁴ The First Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China. Electronic address: sunyun@ahmu.edu.cn.
⁵ The First Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, China; School of Life Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China. Electronic address: weilin@ahmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 42229867
DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2026.105642

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules with defensive effects that are crucial in innate immune defense. Cathelicidin AMPs are a major AMP family found in humans and other vertebrates, originating from various cell types such as neutrophils, macrophages, pancreatic β-cells and epithelial cells. Cathelicidin AMPs serve as a vital line of defense for the immune system. With the rise of antibiotic resistance, many studies are paying attention to cathelicidin AMPs, classic distinctive small immunopeptides. This article provides a systematic review of the molecular structure, biological role and mechanism of cathelicidin AMPs, along with its advancement in clinical application for treating both infectious and non-infectious disease. Additionally, this review points out the future research direction and potential application of cathelicidin AMPs, considering the limitation of current study.

Keywords: Anti-infective; Antimicrobial peptides; Cathelicidin; Immunotherapy.

Publication types

Review