Human -defensin-3 activates professional antigen-presenting cells via Toll-like receptors 1 and 2.

There is increasing evidence that innate and adaptive immune responses are intimately linked. This linkage is in part mediated through the recognition of conserved microbial products by Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Detection of microbial products by TLRs can result in induction of inflammatory cytokines and activation of professional antigen-presenting cells, thereby enhancing adaptive immune responses. Here, we show that human beta-defensin-3 (hBD-3), an innate antimicrobial peptide, can induce expression of the costimulatory molecules CD80, CD86, and CD40, on monocytes and myeloid dendritic cells in a TLR-dependent manner. Activation of monocytes by hBD-3 is mediated by interaction with TLRs 1 and 2, resulting in signaling that requires myeloid differentiating factor 88 and results in IL-1 receptor-associated kinase-1 phosphorylation. In studies with HEK cells engineered to express various TLRs, we show that activation of NF-kappaB by hBD-3 depends on the expression of both TLR1 and TLR2. Thus, human TLR signaling is not restricted to recognition of microbial patterns but also can be initiated by host-derived peptides such as hBD-3.