Antimicrobial peptides: Clinical relevance and therapeutic implications

► Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a large group of compounds produced by multicellular organisms from the vegetal and animal kingdoms. ► Despite the antimicrobial effects, cathelicidins also have immunomodulatory properties. LL-37 is strongly induced by vitamin D, but their effects are paradoxically divergent in cancer biology. ► It is unclear how AMPs are able to induce cell signaling. Models include direct receptor-binding, but they can also induce ion fluxes in a receptor-independent manner. ► AMPs have been proposed as novel therapeutic agents in complex diseases. Here, we explore this scenario.