Anti-inflammatory activities of cecropin A and its mechanism of action

Cecropin A is a novel 37-residue cecropin-like antimicrobial peptide isolated from the cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia. We have demonstrated that cecropin A is an antibacterial agent and have investigated its mode of action. In this study, we show that cecropin A has potent antimicrobial activity against 2 multidrug resistant organisms-Acinetobacter baumanii and-Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Interactions between cecropin A and membrane phospholipids were studied using tryptophan blue shift experiments. Cecropin A has a strong interaction with bacterial cell mimetic membranes. These results imply that cecropin A has selectivity for bacterial cells. To address the potential the rapeutic efficacy of cecropin A, its anti-inflammatory activities and mode of action in mouse macrophage-derived RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were examined. Cecropin A suppressed nitrite production, mTNF-α, mIL-1β, mMIP-1, and mMIP-2 cytokine release in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, cecropin A inhibited intracellular cell signaling via the ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK pathway, leading to the prevention of COX-2 expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. These results strongly suggest that cecropin A should be investigated as a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases.