Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides: current progress and future prospects in immunotherapy.

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.