The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
F2L, a peptide derived from heme-binding protein, was originally identified as an endogenous ligand for formyl peptide receptor-like (FPRL)2. Previously, we reported that F2L inhibits FPR and FPRL1-mediated signaling in neutrophils. Since endothelial…
Surface acoustic wave biosensors are a powerful tool for the study of biomolecular interactions. The modulation of a surface-confined acoustic wave is utilized here for the analysis of surface binding. Phase and amplitude of the wave correspond rough…
Cathelicidin production by human myeloid cells stimulated through toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/1, the migration of human CD8+ T cells to inflamed skin sites, and the ability of murine dendritic cells (DCs) to migrate from skin sites of vaccination to m…
Severe soft tissue infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis and severe cellulitis, caused by group A streptococci (GAS) are rapidly progressing life-threatening infections characterized by massive bacterial loads in the tissue even late after the on…
It is widely accepted, that stress can induce or exacerbate atopic dermatitis. The physiological mechanisms that mediate this negative influence of stress on atopic dermatitis are not clearly understood. This topic has been actively investigated in r…
BACKGROUND: Local and volatile anesthetics are widely used for surgery. It is not known whether anesthetics impinge on the orchestrated events in spontaneous resolution of acute inflammation. Here we investigated whether a commonly used local anesthe…
The recent discovery--from a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials--that supplemental cholecalciferol (vitamin D) significantly reduces all-cause mortality emphasizes the medical, ethical, and legal implications of promptly diagnosing and…
OBJECTIVES: The susceptibility of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), to host-derived cationic antimicrobial peptides was investigated. METHODS: We examined the susceptibility of 190 clinical…
Sterols impart significant changes to the biophysical properties of lipid bilayers. In this regard the impact of cholesterol on membrane organization and dynamics is particularly well documented and serves for comparison with other sterols. However,…
As the main difference between bacterial and mammalian cell membranes is their net charge, the focal point of consideration in many model membrane experiments with antimicrobial peptides is lipid headgroup charge. We studied the interaction of the hu…
Skin, the first barrier against invading microorganisms, is hypoxic, even under baseline conditions. The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha, the principal regulator of cellular adaptation to low oxygen, is strongly expre…
The cathelin-like domain (CLD) of cathelicidins is grouped in the same superfamily with cystatins, natural cysteine protease inhibitors, due to their structural similarity. Intriguingly, human hCAP-18/LL37 and pig protegrin-3 (PG3) CLDs exhibit oppos…
Inhaled Yersinia pestis produces a severe primary pneumonia known as pneumonic plague, which is contagious and highly lethal to humans and animals. In this study, we first determined the susceptibility of Y. pestis KIM6 to antimicrobial molecules of…
Many viral infections reach clinical significance in winter, when it is cold, relative humidity is lowest and vitamin D production from solar ultraviolet-B irradiation is at its nadir. Several autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 d…
Tritrpticin and indolicidin are short 13-residue tryptophan-rich antimicrobial peptides that hold potential as future alternatives for antibiotics. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has been applied as the main tool in this study to investigate…
Keratinocytes produce and secrete antimicrobial peptides which function as endogenous antibiotics and as signaling molecules within the cutaneous innate immune system. Recent studies demonstrate that the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin LL-37 plays…
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of invasive bacterial infections in newborns and certain adult populations. Surface filamentous appendages known as pili have been recently identified in GBS. However, little is known about the role of the…
Bacterial lipoproteins (LP) are a family of cell wall components found in a wide variety of bacteria. In this study, we characterized the response of HUCL, a telomerase-immortalized human corneal epithelial cell (HCEC) line, to LP isolated from Staph…
In addition to the numerous cathelicidin peptides that are associated with the antimicrobial activity exhibited by a crude extract from ovine blood, a further three peptides with antimicrobial activity have been identified. These were part of the pre…