LL37

LL-37

A 37-amino-acid cationic peptide — the name counts the two leucines it begins with — released by proteolysis from the C-terminal end of human cathelicidin hCAP18, the only cathelicidin humans have. It folds into an amphipathic alpha helix with charged and greasy faces on opposite sides, and its primary described action is disrupting microbial membranes directly rather than binding a receptor.

LL-37 has 5 registered human studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, reaching phase 2, covering 44 planned or enrolled participants across the 2 studies that published a figure. No FDA-approved product contains LL-37. 1,380 papers naming it were published in the last ten years.

Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Counts include only trials whose registered intervention names LL-37; the registry search is fuzzy, so every match is re-checked. None of this says whether LL-37 works or is safe.

FDA status

Research only

Human studies

5

Furthest phase

Phase 2

Papers, 10 yr

1,380

Readership

47

monthly average, Feb–Jul 2026

Tracking since 2026-07-29 · About this data

What has actually been tested in humans

C

Phase 1 or 2 only

5

Registered human studies

Phase 2

Furthest phase reached

44

Planned or enrolled participants, across 2 studies that published a figure

None

No FDA-approved product contains it

20 loose registry matches were checked and 5 confirmed — 15 named something else and were discarded. We count a study only when LL-37 is named as an intervention in it.

Registered means registered — not that the study finished, and not that it found anything. The grade is mechanical: it is computed from the registry and the FDA record alone, and it grades how much is known, never whether a compound is good or safe. Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Check the query.

What LL-37 is, and what it has been studied for

LL-37 is tracked here.

Across 5 registered trials, it has been studied in Diabetic Foot Ulcer, Melanoma, Peri-Implantitis and Peri-implant Mucositis and Passive Smoking. A condition here is what a sponsor registered the trial under — it records what was investigated, not what was shown.

The trials were run by Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center among others. A named commercial sponsor means a compound is in formal development; its absence does not mean the opposite, only that no company has registered a trial under its own name.

How far it got

LL-37 reached Phase 2 across 5 registered trials.Phase 1First given to peoplePhase 2Looking for an effectPhase 3Tested at scalePhase 4Studied after approval

LL-37 reached Phase 2 across 5 registered trials.

No FDA-approved product contains LL-37. A compound can stop at any rung for commercial reasons as easily as scientific ones, and the registry does not record which.

Is anyone studying LL-37?

Papers published each year that name LL-37 in the title or abstract, with the clinical trials that started in the same year marked beneath. Ten calendar years.

05010015020017181920212223242526trials
Vertical axis: papers published that year. Bar for 2026 is hatched because that year is still running.
Publications and trials naming LL-37, by year
YearPublicationsTrials startedComplete year
20171490Yes
20181470Yes
20191510Yes
20201730Yes
20211671Yes
20221670Yes
20231290Yes
20241410Yes
20251670Yes
20261390No

1,380 papers and 1 registered trials between 2017 and 2026. A paper counts when “LL-37” appears in its title or abstract — phrase-matched, so a paper mentioning the words separately is not counted. The total is a single query over the whole window, which is why it does not equal the bars added together: PubMed files a paper under both its electronic and its print publication date, so one paper can appear in two years. Publication volume measures scientific attention, not whether a compound works: a well-studied compound can be well-studied and ineffective. Sources: PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov · collected 2026-08-02.

Published research on LL-37

1,380 indexed papers name LL-37 in their title or abstract. These are the 8 PubMed ranks most relevant. Listing a paper is not a judgement about it, and none of these is summarised here — follow the link and read what it says.

  1. Vitamin D triggers hCAP18/LL-37 production: Implications for LL-37-induced human osteoblast cytotoxicity

    Aidoukovitch A, Bankell E, Svensson D, et al.Biochemical and biophysical research communications2024

    PMID 3864249310.1016/j.bbrc.2024.149962

  2. LL-37, a Multi-Faceted Amphipathic Peptide Involved in NETosis

    Radic M, Muller SCells2022

    PMID 3595430510.3390/cells11152463

  3. LL-37: A Direct Link Between Inflammation and Myocardial Infarction

    Schneider DJJACC. Basic to translational science2024

    PMID 3917095310.1016/j.jacbts.2024.05.007

  4. LL-37 Triggers Antimicrobial Activity in Human Platelets

    Sánchez-Peña FJ, Romero-Tlalolini MLÁ, Torres-Aguilar H, et al.International journal of molecular sciences2023

    PMID 3676913710.3390/ijms24032816

  5. Human cathelicidin peptide LL-37 induces endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition

    Suzuki K, Ohkuma M, Nagaoka IBioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry2025

    PMID 4069026210.1093/bbb/zbaf112

  6. Regulation of LL-37 in Bone and Periodontium Regeneration

    Chinipardaz Z, Zhong JM, Yang SLife (Basel, Switzerland)2022

    PMID 3629496810.3390/life12101533

  7. LL-37: Cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide with pleiotropic activity

    Fabisiak A, Murawska N, Fichna JPharmacological reports : PR2016

    PMID 2711737710.1016/j.pharep.2016.03.015

  8. Antibiofilm properties of cathelicidin LL-37: an in-depth review

    Memariani H, Memariani MWorld journal of microbiology & biotechnology2023

    PMID 3678157010.1007/s11274-023-03545-z

Collected 2026-08-02from PubMed, phrase-matched on “LL-37” in title and abstract. Run the same search.

About LL-37

A 37-amino-acid cationic peptide — the name counts the two leucines it begins with — released by proteolysis from the C-terminal end of human cathelicidin hCAP18, the only cathelicidin humans have. It folds into an amphipathic alpha helix with charged and greasy faces on opposite sides, and its primary described action is disrupting microbial membranes directly rather than binding a receptor.

Also known as
Cathelicidin LL-37 · hCAP-18 fragment

Structure and mechanism only. Nothing above describes what this compound is for, and no dose appears anywhere on this page.

Reading on this compound

All articles

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