Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub1
Cathelicidins Revisited: Molecular Evolution, Structure and Functional Implications

Cathelicidins Revisited: Molecular Evolution, Structure and Functional Implications

Athanasia Pavlopoulou
Copyright: © 2013 |Volume: 2 |Issue: 2 |Pages: 25
ISSN: 2160-9586|EISSN: 2160-9594|EISBN13: 9781466632288|DOI: 10.4018/ijsbbt.2013040102
Cite Article Cite Article

MLA

Pavlopoulou, Athanasia. "Cathelicidins Revisited: Molecular Evolution, Structure and Functional Implications." IJSBBT vol.2, no.2 2013: pp.8-32. http://doi.org/10.4018/ijsbbt.2013040102

APA

Pavlopoulou, A. (2013). Cathelicidins Revisited: Molecular Evolution, Structure and Functional Implications. International Journal of Systems Biology and Biomedical Technologies (IJSBBT), 2(2), 8-32. http://doi.org/10.4018/ijsbbt.2013040102

Chicago

Pavlopoulou, Athanasia. "Cathelicidins Revisited: Molecular Evolution, Structure and Functional Implications," International Journal of Systems Biology and Biomedical Technologies (IJSBBT) 2, no.2: 8-32. http://doi.org/10.4018/ijsbbt.2013040102

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite Full-Issue Download

Abstract

Cathelicidins constitute important antimicrobial peptides of innate immunity. In order to elucidate the evolutionary history of cathelicidins, the author performed comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of cathelicidin homologs in all available genomes including those completed recently. The organization of cathelicidin genes, as well as the secondary and tertiary structures of the inferred proteins are conserved. Based on integrated genomic, structural, and functional data, the author identified the last common ancestor of the cathelicidin family in lampreys, thus tracing the evolutionary origin of cathelicidins 550 million years ago. The author’s data suggest that cathelicidins arose concordantly with the adaptive immune system, a new organismal function first acquired in lampreys. The appearance of cathelicidins at the junction of innate and adaptive immunity may explain their dual roles as signal transducing molecules and as antimicrobial peptide precursors. Conserved regulatory elements associated with functions of the immune system were identified in cathelicidin gene promoter sequences invariably from fishes to humans.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.