Anti-bacterial activity of dermcidin in human platelets: suppression of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus growth

作者：Erxiong Liu, Shunli Gu, Xi Wang, Wenting Wang, Jinmei Xu, Ning An, Lingling Zhang, Jiajia Xin, Xingbin Hu, Yaozhen Chen, Qunxing An, Wen Yin · 发表于：Microbiology Spectrum · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1128/spectrum.03273-24 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy、Phenothiazines and Benzothiazines Synthesis and Activities、Drug-Induced Adverse Reactions

ABSTRACT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common drug-resistant bacteria that cause community and hospital infections. As one of the most common “superbugs” and the pathogen with the highest global incidence of hospital-acquired infections, MRSA has developed resistance to multiple antibiotics, posing a serious threat to public health. The rapid emergence and spread of multidrug resistance have increased the urgent need for new antimicrobial strategies and agents to combat MRSA-associated infections. In recent years, platelets have been widely recognized to play an important role in human immune defense. We have previously reported that platelets inhibit MRSA by inducing hydroxyl radical (OH ● )-mediated apoptosis-like cell death. To further explore the platelet antibacterial mechanism, supernatants from co-culture of platelets and MRSA in vitro were used for proteomic analysis. Based on our observations using confocal and immunoelectron microscopy, we found a previously unrecognized platelet antimicrobial peptide, dermcidin (DCD), in the alpha ( α -) granules. Furthermore, after co-culturing with MRSA in vitro , activated platelets secreted large amounts of DCD. Additionally, we confirmed that DCD displayed anti-MRSA activity in a concentration-dependent manner and contributed to the inhibition of MRSA growth by platelets in vitro . Our findings provide important insights into the immune defense functions of platelets. IMPORTANCE The emer...