PLUNC (palate, lung and nasal epithelium clone) protein is an abundant secretory product of epithelia throughout the mammalian conducting airways. Despite its homology with the innate immune defence molecules BPI (bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein) and LBP (lipopolysaccharide-binding protein), it has been difficult to define the functions of PLUNC. Based on its marked hydrophobicity and expression pattern, we hypothesized that PLUNC is an airway surfactant. We found that purified recombinant human PLUNC exhibited potent surfactant activity by several different measures, and experiments with airway epithelial cell lines and primary cultures indicate that native PLUNC makes a significant contribution to the overall surface tension in airway epithelial secretions. Interestingly, we also found that physiologically relevant concentrations of PLUNC-inhibited Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation in vitro without acting directly as a bactericide. This finding suggests that PLUNC protein may inhibit biofilm formation by airway pathogens, perhaps through its dispersant properties. Our data, along with reports from other groups on activity against some airway pathogens, expand on an emerging picture of PLUNC as a multifunctional protein, which plays a novel role in airway defences at the air/liquid interface.
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August 2011
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Conference Article|
July 20 2011
PLUNC: a multifunctional surfactant of the airways
Jennifer Bartlett;
Jennifer Bartlett
*Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 240 EMRB, Iowa City, IA 52242, U.S.A.
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Lokesh Gakhar;
Lokesh Gakhar
†Department of Biochemistry and Protein Crystallography Facility, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 240 EMRB, Iowa City, IA 52242, U.S.A.
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Jon Penterman;
Jon Penterman
‡Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
§Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
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Pradeep Singh;
Pradeep Singh
‡Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
§Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
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Rama K. Mallampalli;
Rama K. Mallampalli
∥Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, U.S.A.
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Edith Porter;
Edith Porter
¶Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032, U.S.A.
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Paul B. McCray, Jr
Paul B. McCray, Jr
1
*Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 240 EMRB, Iowa City, IA 52242, U.S.A.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email paul-mccray@uiowa.edu).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
January 12 2011
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2011 Biochemical Society
2011
Biochem Soc Trans (2011) 39 (4): 1012–1016.
Article history
Received:
January 12 2011
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A correction has been published:
PLUNC: a multifunctional surfactant of the airways
Citation
Jennifer Bartlett, Lokesh Gakhar, Jon Penterman, Pradeep Singh, Rama K. Mallampalli, Edith Porter, Paul B. McCray; PLUNC: a multifunctional surfactant of the airways. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 2011; 39 (4): 1012–1016. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0391012
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