Review flags degradation and cost as barriers to LL-37 oral therapeutics

The wire

1. 01A narrative review in Odontology says LL-37 clinical development is blocked by proteolytic degradation, cytotoxicity at higher concentrations, microbial tolerance, biofilm protection, rapid salivary clearance and high production costs.
2. 02LL-37 is tracked closely by readers following immune peptides; the review sets out where the human evidence actually stands in periodontal disease, caries, endodontic infection and oral mucosal disorders.
3. 03The authors also propose standardising salivary and gingival crevicular fluid LL-37 as a non-invasive biomarker. This is a review, not new data, and no clinical trial results are presented.

From the source

LL-37-based oral antimicrobial therapeutics: translational challenges and future directions-a narrative review

Odontology · 2026 Sep 20 · J M, Veeraraghavan VP, Govindarajan S et al.