The contact system—a novel branch of innate immunity generating antibacterial peptides

Abstract

Activation of the contact system has two classical consequences: initiation of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation, and cleavage of high molecular weight kininogen (HK) leading to the release of bradykinin, a potent proinflammatory peptide. In human plasma, activation of the contact system at the surface of significant bacterial pathogens was found to result in further HK processing and bacterial killing. A fragment comprising the D3 domain of HK is generated, and within this fragment a sequence of 26 amino acids is mainly responsible for the antibacterial activity. A synthetic peptide covering this sequence kills several bacterial species, also at physiological salt concentration, as effectively as the classical human antibacterial peptide LL-37. Moreover, in an animal model of infection, inhibition of the contact system promotes bacterial dissemination and growth. These data identify a novel and important role for the contact system in the defence against invasive bacterial infection.