%0 Journal Article
%T Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor 2 Is Found in Skin and Its C-Terminal Region Encodes for Antibacterial Activity
%A Praveen Papareddy
%A Martina Kalle
%A Ole E. S£¿rensen
%A Katarina Lundqvist
%A Matthias M£¿rgelin
%A Martin Malmsten
%A Artur Schmidtchen
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0052772
%X Background Tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI-2) is a matrix-associated serine protease inhibitor with an enigmatic function in vivo. Here, we describe that TFPI-2 is present in fibrin of wounds and also expressed in skin, where it is up-regulated upon wounding. Methodology and Principal Findings Neutrophil elastase cleaved TFPI-2, and a C-terminal fragment was found to bind to bacteria. Similarly, a prototypic peptide representing this C-terminal part, EDC34, bound to bacteria and bacterial lipopolysaccharide, and induced bacterial permeabilization. The peptide also induced leakage in artificial liposomes, and displayed a random coil conformation upon interactions with liposomes as well as lipopolysaccharide. EDC34 was antibacterial against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in physiological buffer conditions. Conclusions/Significance The results demonstrate that the C-terminus of TFPI-2 encodes for antimicrobial activity, and may be released during wounding.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0052772