The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
BACKGROUND: Bone generation and maintenance involve osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes which originate from unique precursors and rely on key growth factors for differentiation. However, an incomplete understanding of bone forming cells during…
Porphyromonas gingivalis is a major periodontogenic bacterium and possesses immunostimulatory components, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and fimbriae. The host antimicrobial peptide, LL-37, suppresses proinflammatory responses of immune cells but…
Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs), a component of the mammalian immune system, protect the host from bacterial infections. The roles of the Escherichia coli transcriptional regulators MarA, SoxS and Rob in susceptibility to these peptides were…
Capsular polysaccharides (CPS) are a major virulence factor in meningococcal infections and form the basis for serogroup designation and protective vaccines. Our work has identified meningococcal CPS as a pro-inflammatory ligand that functions throug…
The pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis is still under discussion. Although it is widely accepted that environmental factors and a genetic predisposition are essential, the role of the innate and adaptive immune system and the functional cascade of…
Cathelicidin has dual functions in the skin, acting as an innate antibiotic and as an immunomodulator in diseases such as rosacea and psoriasis. The serine proteases kallikrein 5 (KLK5) and kallikrein 7 (KLK7) control enzymatic processing of cathelic…
BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests cathelicidin LL-37 to be a growth factor for various human cancers such as lung cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer. However, the effect of LL-37 against malignant skin cancer has not been reported. OBJECTIVE…
Antimicrobial peptides such as human β-defensins (hBDs) and cathelicidins are critical for protection against infection and can be induced by activation of TLRs, a pathway that also activates cyclooxygenase(Cox)-2 expression. We hypothesized that Cox…
BACKGROUND: Production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is the primary mechanism by which skin innate immunity protects against infection. Hormonally active vitamin D3 (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; 1,25D₃) is a vital regulator of skin innate immunity,…
Taking into account the role of mast cells in different physiological and pathological processes, as well as in host defense it seems very important to recognize mast cell receptors and their role in activation of these cells. In the last few years i…
The increasing number of infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria has spurred efforts to develop new therapeutic strategies. When applied locally, exogenous antibiotics work in an environment rich in endogenous antibacterial molecules such as the…
Recent in vivo studies indicate that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may have beneficial effects in the treatment of sepsis induced by bacterial infection. Administration of MSCs in these studies improved survival and enhanced bacterial clearance. The…
Cationic host defense peptides are key, evolutionarily conserved components of the innate immune system. The human cathelicidin LL-37 is an important cationic host defense peptide up-regulated in infection and inflammation, specifically in the human…
To evaluate the association of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and vitamin D receptors (VDRs) in psoriasis, lesional (PP) and perilesional skin (PN) from psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and healthy controls (NN) w…
The antifungal activity of the plant defensin NaD1 involves specific interaction with the fungal cell wall, followed by permeabilization of the plasma membrane and entry of NaD1 into the cytoplasm. Prior to this study, the role of membrane permeabili…
UNLABELLED: PURPOSE/AIM OF STUDY: To investigate the expression of endogenous antimicrobial peptides within the murine cornea during the onset and progression of posttraumatic keratomycosis caused by Candida albicans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scarified…
The structure and function of the synthetic innate defense regulator peptide 1018 was investigated. This 12 residue synthetic peptide derived by substantial modification of the bovine cathelicidin bactenecin has enhanced innate immune regulatory and…
Skin wounds usually heal without major infections, although the loss of the mechanical epithelial barrier exposes the tissue to various bacteria. One reason may be the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) of which some [human beta-defensins (hB…
The initiation of hyperinvasive disease in group A Streptococcus (GAS) serotype M1T1 occurs by mutation within the covRS two-component regulon (named covRS for control of virulence regulatory sensor kinase), which promotes resistance to neutrophil-me…
Vitamin D has received increased attention recently for its pleiotropic actions on many chronic diseases. The importance of vitamin D on the regulation of cells of the immune system has gained increased appreciation over the past decade with the disc…