The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
The porcine cathelicidin PR-39 is a host defence peptide that plays a pivotal role in the innate immune defence of the pig against infections. Besides direct antimicrobial activity, it is involved in immunomodulation, wound healing and several other…
BACKGROUND: Exacerbation of cutaneous wound infections and delayed wound closure are frequent complications seen in alcohol exposed subjects who sustain injuries. We previously reported that acute alcohol exposure alters the early dermal inflammatory…
Continuous light treatment during early juvenile stages in Gadus morhua is a common farming management practice but the effects of these unnatural light conditions on fish stress have received scant attention. In the present study we investigated how…
This Letter reports a family of novel antimicrobial compounds obtained by combining peptide library screening with structure-based design. Library screening led to the identification of a human LL-37 peptide resistant to chymotrypsin. This d-amino-ac…
This work aims to investigate the possible mechanism of action of the homologue peptide Pa-MAP based on the Antarctic fish Pleuronectes americanus, through a study by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of models of bilayer lipid membranes suppor…
A role for vitamin A in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been suggested through epidemiological and in vitro studies; however, the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that vitamin A-triggered antimicrobial activity…
Studies of time-dependent drug and environmental effects on single, live bacterial cells would benefit significantly from a permeable, nonperturbative, long-lived fluorescent stain specific to the nucleoids (chromosomal DNA). The ideal stain would no…
Several dermatoses, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and rosacea, alter the expression of the innate immune effector human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). To elucidate the roles of aberrant CAMP in dermatoses, we performed cDNA arra…
BACKGROUND: Cathelicidins comprise a major group of host-defence peptides. Conserved across a wide range of species, they have several functions related to host defence. Only one cathelicidin has been found in humans but several cathelicidin genes oc…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune system of complex multicellular organisms. Despite the fact that AMPs show great potential as a novel class of antibiotics, the lack of a cost-effective means for their mass production limit…
Colonization of epithelium by microorganisms leads to inflammatory responses. In some cases an anti-apoptotic response involving the cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein-2 (cIAP-2) also occurs. Although strong expression of cIAP-2 has been observe…
The pulmonary airways are continuously exposed to bacteria. As a first line of defense against infection, the airway surface liquid (ASL) contains a complex mixture of antimicrobial factors that kill inhaled and aspirated bacteria. The composition of…
Antimicrobial peptides are important for a healthy host-microbe homeostasis. In infections characterized by low levels of the human cathelicidin, LL-37, induction of its expression increases clearance of pathogens. Our aim was to discover signaling p…
Antimicrobial peptides (AP) are important components of the innate immune system, yet little is known about their expression and function in the brain. Our previous work revealed upregulated gene expression of cathelicidin-related AP (CRAMP) followin…
Azelaic acid (AzA) 15% gel has been available in the United States for slightly over a decade, approved for treatment of the inflammatory lesions (papules and pustules) of rosacea. Efficacy and safety have been established in multiple studies both as…
A variety of Gram-negative pathogens possess host-specific lactoferrin (Lf) receptors that mediate the acquisition of iron from host Lf. The integral membrane protein component of the receptor, lactoferrin binding protein A specifically binds host Lf…
Daptomycin-nonsusceptible vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) strains are a formidable emerging threat to patients with comorbidities, leaving few therapeutic options in cases of severe invasive infections. Using a previously characterize…
The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-DNA can trigger the inflammatory response in cholesteatoma. Specimens were collected from nine patients with invasive cholesteatoma, nine patients with attic-type cholesteatoma (pars flaccida wa…
Serine protease inhibitors of the Kazal-type 9 (SPINK9) is a keratinocyte-derived cationic peptide that is found most abundantly in the upper layers of the palmar-plantar epidermis. In vitro, the peptide displays the capacity to inhibit specifically…
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) responds to subinhibitory concentrations of LL-37 by up-regulation of virulence factors through the CsrRS (CovRS) two-component system. The signaling mechanism, however, is unclear. To determine whether LL-37 signaling ref…