Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides mediate immune protection of marsupial neonates

Abstract

Marsupial neonates are born with immature immune systems, making them vulnerable to pathogens. While neonates receive maternal protection, they can also independently combat pathogens, though the mechanisms remain unknown. Using the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps), we investigated marsupial neonatal immune defenses. Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides are highly expressed in neonates, with their coordinated expression mediated by enhancer sharing within gene clusters and long-range interactions between clusters. Moreover, cathelicidins modulate immune responses and have potent antimicrobial effects, sufficient to provide protection in a mouse model of sepsis. Lastly, cathelicidins have a complex evolutionary history, where marsupials and monotremes are the only tetrapods that retained two cathelicidin clusters. Thus, cathelicidins are critical mediators of marsupial immunity, and their evolution reflects the life history-specific immunological needs of these animals.