The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review recently published studies presenting novel and relevant information on antimicrobial peptides in gastrointestinal infections. RECENT FINDINGS: Defensins and cathelicidins are important antimicrobial peptides expressed by…
LL-37 is an alpha-helical antimicrobial peptide of human origin. It is a 37 residue cathelicidin peptide. This paper explores the use of electrochemical methods to investigate the interaction of LL-37 with phospholipid and lipid A monolayers on a mer…
The constitutive expression of human cathelicidin LL-37 antimicrobial peptide was achieved using the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris. An LL-37 cDNA clone was amplified by PCR using human fetal cDNA library as template. The 111 bp fragment encod…
Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a component of the innate immune system, play a major role in defense of mucosal surfaces against a wide spectrum of microorganisms such as viral and bacterial co-pathogens of the polymicrobial disease otitis m…
PROBLEM: Our recent studies proved that menstrual discharge is exceptionally rich in bactericidal hemoglobin peptides (hemocidins). Of special interest is the behavior of hemocidins in low pH of the vagina, in different ionic strengths, and in the pr…
Antimicrobial peptides are universal host defense membrane-targeting molecules in a variety of life forms. Structure elucidation provides important insight into the mechanism of action. Here we present the three-dimensional structure of a membrane pe…
The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is the only cathelicidin that has been described in humans. LL-37 exerts chemotactic, immunomodulatory and angiogenic effects; activities that are mediated through binding to the formyl peptide receptor like (FPRL)-1 r…
BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is characterized by epidermal infiltration of neutrophils that destroy invading microorganisms via a potent antimicrobial arsenal of oxidants and antimicrobial agents. In contrast to atopic dermatitis, psoriasis exhibits low lev…
Preterm labour is a major problem in obstetrics. Timely intervention with available treatments is hampered by the lack of a reliable test of imminent preterm delivery. Current methods of diagnosis are based on the detection of breakdown products of f…
Cationic antibacterial peptides (ABPs) are secreted in the airways and function in the first line of defence against infectious agents. They attack multiple molecular targets to cooperatively penetrate and disrupt microbial surfaces and membrane barr…
Cathelicidins are an important family of cationic host defense peptides in vertebrates with both antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities. Fowlicidin-1 and fowlicidin-2 are two newly identified chicken cathelicidins with potent antibacterial act…
Cathelicidins are antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system that establish an antimicrobial barrier at epithelial interfaces and have been proposed to have a proinflammatory function. We studied the role of cathelicidin in allergic contact d…
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Innate intestinal defenses are important for protection against ingested and commensal microbes. This review highlights recent new insights into innate immune effectors in the intestine. RECENT FINDINGS: Intestinal epithelial cells…
In the present study, we examined the role of Staphylococcus aureus protein A (SpA) in inducing inflammatory response in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). Exposure of HCECs to SpA induces rapid NF-kappaB activation and secretion of proinflammat…
An essential element of the innate immune response to injury is the capacity to recognize microbial invasion and stimulate production of antimicrobial peptides. We investigated how this process is controlled in the epidermis. Keratinocytes surroundin…
BACKGROUND: Recurrent acute tonsillitis is one of the most frequent ENT referrals, yet its pathogenesis remains poorly understood, and tonsillectomy still costs the National Health Service more than pound 60,000000 annually. Antimicrobial cationic pe…
The antimicrobial hexapeptide PAF26 was de novo designed towards phytopathogenic fungi of agricultural importance. To analyze its clinical potential, the activity of PAF26 has been determined against several microorganisms of clinical relevance inclu…
BACKGROUND: A feature of psoriasis is the rapid proliferation of keratinocytes, during which apoptosis is blocked and angiogenesis starts. It is known that tumor hypoxic cells produce histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC-1), which up-regulates hypoxia-inducib…
Cathelicidins, a group of cationic peptides found in leukocytes and epithelial cells, play a central role in the early innate immune defense against infection. Although these host defense peptides have been reported in several mammalian species, incl…
Antibiotics are designed to support host defense in controlling infection. Here we describe a paradoxical inhibitory effect of bacteriostatic antibiotics on key mediators of mammalian innate immunity. When growth of species including Escherichia coli…