Antimicrobial peptide Brevinin-2R induces the secretion of a pro-inflammatory cytokine in HepG2 cells

Introduction: Antimicrobial peptides as the body's defense strategy play an important role in resistance against infection of microorganism. These peptides are able to modulate the immune and inflammatory processes through the production of defensive molecules. Therefore, the modulatory effects of Brevinin-2R, an antimicrobial peptide extracted from the skin of the frog (Rana ridibunda), was evaluated in this study. Materials and methods: MTT assay was conducted for evaluating the cytotoxic effect of Brevinin-2R on human liver carcinoma cells (HepG2). Then, real-time PCR was used to assess the inflammatory properties of this peptide. Results: It was appeared that the Brevinin-2R has a low toxicity against HepG2 cancer cells and can reduce cell growth to 24%. Results of molecular analysis showed that Brevinin-2R increases the expression of IL-1b and IL-6 genes in cancer cells in a dose dependent manner. Conclusion: The results show that Brevinin-2R has a regulatory role in inflammation through targeting the genes involved in the process.