C-terminal peptides of tissue-factor pathway inhibitor are novel host defense molecules.
Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) inhibits tissue factor-induced coagulation, but may, via its C-terminus, also modulate cell surface-, heparin-, lipopolysaccharide interactions as well as participate in growth inhibition. Here we show that C-terminal TFPI peptide sequences are antimicrobial against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-positive Bacillus
