Assays for identifying inducers of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37

Abstract

One promising approach to meet the growing problem of antibiotic resistance is to modulate host defense mechanisms, i.e., host-directed therapy (HDT), in the fight against infections. Induction of endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) via small molecular compounds, such as 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or phenylbutyrate, could provide one such HDT-based approach. We have developed a cell-based screening assay for the identification of novel compounds with the capacity to induce AMP expression and here follows the detailed protocol.