The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
The antimicrobial peptide database (APD, http://aps.unmc.edu/AP/main.php) has been updated and expanded. It now hosts 1228 entries with 65 anticancer, 76 antiviral (53 anti-HIV), 327 antifungal and 944 antibacterial peptides. The second version of ou…
The human cathelicidin peptide LL-37 is a multifunctional immunomodulatory and antimicrobial host defense peptide of the human immune system. LL-37 modulates host cell responses to microbial stimuli and also affects the action of other endogenous imm…
Chicken host defense peptide cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2) is known to exert antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities and consists of two alpha-helices connected by a hinge region. Here we report the biological properties of the separate alpha-helical…
The human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is involved in various aspects of skin biology, including protection against infection, wound healing, and also in psoriasis. The tight regulation of apoptosis is critical in tissue repair and its de…
LL-37 is a human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide that is released in the skin after injury and acts to defend against infection and modulate the local cellular immune response. We observed in human dermal keloids that fibrosis was inversely relate…
BACKGROUND: Cellular prion-related protein (PrP(c)) is a cell-surface protein that is ubiquitously expressed in the human body. The multifunctionality of PrP(c), and presence of an exposed cationic and heparin-binding N-terminus, a feature characteri…
Bacterial meningitis is characterized by an inflammation of the meninges and continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Meningeal cells cover the cerebral surface and are involved in the first interaction between pathogens and the…
The human cathelicidin LL-37 displays both direct antibacterial activities and the capacity to modulate host-cell activities. These depend on structural characteristics that are subject to positive selection for variation, as observed in a previous a…
Factor H-binding protein (fHBP; GNA1870) is one of the antigens of the recombinant vaccine against serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis, which has been developed using reverse vaccinology and is the basis of a meningococcal B vaccine entering phase III…
BACKGROUND: Cathelicidin LL-37, an antimicrobial peptide, is part of the host innate immune response in the oral cavity. Interleukin (IL)-18, a proinflammatory cytokine, could play a role in the progression of the inflammatory response. The aim of th…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are secreted in the airway and contribute to initial defence against inhaled pathogens. Infections of the respiratory tract are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm newborns and in patients with cystic fib…
Proteolysis is a common microbial virulence mechanism that enables the destruction of host tissue and evasion from host defense mechanisms. Antimicrobial peptides, also known as host defense peptides, are effector molecules of the innate immunity tha…
BACKGROUND: The success of antimicrobial therapy has been impaired by the emergence of resistant bacterial strains. Antimicrobial peptides are ubiquitous proteins that are part of the innate immune system and are successful against such antibiotic-re…
PURPOSE: Three familial cases of each of severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) and cyclic neutropenia (CN) in addition to 3 sporadic cases of SCN were analyzed for neutrophil elastase (Ela2) gene mutation. The contents of the neutrophil-specific granul…
The bactenecin is an antibacterial peptide with an intramolecular disulfide bond. We recently found that homodimeric bactenecin exhibits more potent antibacterial activity than the monomeric form and retains its activity at physiological conditions.…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of our first line of defense. Induction of AMPs such as LL-37 of the cathelicidin family might provide a novel approach in treating bacterial infections. In this study we identified 4-phenylbutyr…
Bacillus anthracis is a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Category A priority pathogen and the causative agent of the deadly disease anthrax. We applied a transposon mutagenesis system to screen for novel chromosomally encoded B.…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) kill or prevent the growth of microbes. AMPs are made by virtually all single and multicellular organisms and are encountered by bacteria in diverse environments, including within a host. Bacteria use sensor-kinase syste…
Researchers have noted that the incidence of autoimmune diseases, such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, is markedly higher in women than in men, but to date the reason for this disparity has been unclear. The vitamin D nuclear receptor (VDR) is expressed…
The major milk whey proteins of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) have been identified over the total period of lactation using proteomic analysis techniques comprising two-dimensional electrophoresis, comparative image analysis, matrix assisted…