The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
UNLABELLED: The Mac/IdeS protein of group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a secreted cysteine protease with cleavage specificity for IgG and is highly expressed in the GAS serotype M1T1 clone, which is the serotype most frequently isolated from patients wit…
Northern freshwater fish may be suitable for the genetic dissection of ecological traits because they invaded new habitats after the last ice age (∼10.000 years ago). Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) colonizing streams and lakes in Iceland gave rise…
Vitamin D is mainly known for its traditional role in the bone mineralization and calcium homeostasis. Recent studies have shown that vitamin D receptors (VDR) are present in almost all the tissues and cells in the human body. In addition, several st…
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major worldwide health problem in part due to the lack of development of new treatments and the emergence of new strains such as multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant strains that are threatening and impairin…
BACKGROUND: The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is known to have a potent lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-neutralizing activity in various cell types. Because of observed heterogeneity within periodontopathogenic LPS, the authors hypothesized that LL-37 had spe…
Host defence peptides (HDPs) are expressed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. They have multifunctional roles in the defence against infectious agents of mammals, possessing both bactericidal and immune-modulatory activities. We have identifie…
Fibrosis is one of the most common pathological alterations in heart failure, and fibroblast migration is an essential process in the development of cardiac fibrosis. Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) is a model of inflammatory heart disease…
Although the effectiveness of BCG vaccination in preventing adult pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has been highly variable, epidemiologic studies have suggested that BCG provides other general health benefits to vaccinees including reducing the impact of…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can cause lysis of target bacteria by directly inserting themselves into the lipid bilayer. This killing mechanism confounds the identification of the intracellular targets of AMPs. To circumvent this, we used a shuttle…
Vitamin D and its metabolites have been recognized as key determinants in innate immune modulation. In this study, we investigated the regulation of antibacterial functions of oral keratinocyte cells by 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25VD3). OKF6/TERT2 cells,…
UNLABELLED: The sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea is caused exclusively by the human-specific pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Type IV pili are an essential virulence factor uniformly expressed on clinical gonococcal isolates and are required f…
Host defense peptides are immediate responders of the innate immunity that express antimicrobial, immunoregulatory, and wound-healing activities. Neutrophils are a major source for oral host defense peptides, and phagocytosis by neutrophils is a majo…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) constitute an essential part of the innate immune defence. Pathogenic bacteria have evolved numerous strategies to withstand AMP-mediated killing. The influence of host epithelia on bacterial AMP resistance is, however,…
Human β defensin-3 (hBD-3) is an antimicrobial peptide with diverse functionality. We investigated the capacity of hBD-3 and, for comparison, Pam3CSK4 and LL-37 to induce co-stimulatory molecules and chemokine expression in monocytes. These stimuli d…
Cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) not only kills bacteria but also binds to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to neutralize its activity. CRAMP is highly expressed in bone marrow and its expression is reported to be up-regulated by inflammato…
OBJECTIVES: We aim to develop antibacterial peptide mimics resistant to protease degradation, with broad-spectrum activity at sites of infection. METHODS: The bactericidal activities of LL-37, ceragenins CSA-13, CSA-90 and CSA-92 and the spermine-con…
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To prevent bacterial adherence and translocation, the colonic mucosa is covered by a protecting mucus layer and the epithelium synthesizes antimicrobial peptides. The present qualitative study investigated the contents and intera…
OBJECTIVE: LL-37, the unique cathelicidin expressed in humans, in addition to acting as an endogenous antibiotic, is an important cell-signaling molecule upregulated in ovarian, breast, and lung tumors. However, the role of LL-37 in tumor microenviro…
The aim of this study was to demonstrate targeted delivery of protein-based bactericidal antibiotics using electrospun polymer nanofibers. Previous studies have utilized electrospinning to create nanofibers for the localized delivery of therapeutic a…
BACKGROUND: Host-derived (LL-37) and synthetic (WLBU-2) cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) are known for their membrane-active bactericidal properties. LL-37 is an important mediator for immunomodulation, while the mechanism of action of WLBU-2 r…