The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
The host defense roles of neutrophil elastase in a porcine skin wound chamber model were explored. Analysis of wound fluid by acid-urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot, and bacterial overlay confirmed that the neutrophil-derived prot…
Cathelicidins are a family of antimicrobial proteins found in the peroxidase-negative granules of neutrophils. The known biologic functions reside in the C-terminus, which must be cleaved from the holoprotein to become active. Bovine and porcine cath…
The orientation and dynamics of an 18-residue antimicrobial peptide, ovispirin, has been investigated using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Ovispirin is a cathelicidin-like model peptide (NH(2)-KNLRRIIRKIIHIIKKYG-COOH) with potent, broad-spectrum bacte…
Endogenous peptide antibiotics are under investigation as inhaled therapeutic agents for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. The bactericidal activities of five cathelicidin peptides (LL37 [human], CAP18 [rabbit], mCRAMP [mouse], rCRAMP [rat], and SMA…
Cathelicidins are a mammalian gene family notable for the presence of an antibiotic peptide encoded at the carboxy-terminal domain of the nascent pre-pro-protein. Following proteolytic release, this peptide has direct antimicrobial activity. To under…
Cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial peptides are a component of the peptide-based host defense of neutrophils and epithelia, with a widespread distribution in mammals. We recently reported the cDNA sequences of three putative horse myeloid cathelicidi…
Mammalian myeloid and epithelial cells express several kinds of antibacterial peptides (alpha-/beta-defensins and cathelicidins) that contribute to the innate host defense by killing invading micro-organisms. In this study we evaluated the LPS-neutra…
Since we live in a dirty environment, we have developed many host defenses to contend with microorganisms. The epithelial lining of our skin, gastrointestinal tract and bronchial tree produces a number of antibacterial peptides, and our phagocytic ne…
Rhesus monkey bone marrow expresses a cathelicidin whose C-terminal domain comprises a 37-residue alpha-helical peptide (RL-37) that resembles human LL-37. Like its human counterpart, RL-37 rapidly permeabilized the membranes of Escherichia coli ML-3…
Defensins and cathelicidins are the two major families of mammalian anti-microbial proteins. They contribute to host, innate, anti-microbial defense by disrupting the integrity of the bacterial cell membrane. However, several members of the mammalian…
SMAP29, an ovine cathelicidin, was systematically altered to create a family of 23 related peptides for MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration determinations. SMAP28, SMAP29, and a derivative of SMAP29 called ovispirin were all antimicrobial. How…
In mammals, several gene families encode peptides with antibacterial activity, such as the beta-defensins and cathelicidins. These peptides are expressed on epithelial surfaces and in neutrophils, and have been proposed to provide a first line of def…
PR-39 is a member of the proline-rich group of cathelicidin peptides, a class of anti-microbial peptides found in skin and in leukocytes. In addition to their innate defense function, these proline-rich peptides influence a number of mammalian cell p…
The stratified epithelia of the oral cavity are continually exposed to bacterial challenge that is initially resisted by innate epithelial factors and by the recruitment of neutrophils. Antimicrobial peptides from phagocytes and epithelia contribute…
PURPOSE: To determine the expression and production of antimicrobial peptides by mucosal cells of the lacrimal passage in healthy and pathologic states. METHODS: Detection of bactericidal-permeability-increasing protein (BPI), heparin-binding protein…
Antibacterial peptides are active defense components of innate immunity. Several studies confirm their importance at epithelial surfaces as immediate barrier effectors in preventing infection. Here we report that early in Shigella spp. infections, ex…
CRAMP-18 (GEKLKKIGQKIKNFFQKL) is the antibacterial sequence derived from CRMAP, a member of cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial peptides. To develop the novel antibiotic peptides useful as therapeutic drugs requires strong antibiotic activity against…
A 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide microplate assay was adapted to screen for the ability of 20 host-defense peptides to inactivate herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2. The procedure required minimal amounts of material…
Cathelicidins are a numerous group of mammalian proteins that carry diverse antimicrobial peptides at the C-terminus of a highly conserved preproregion. These peptides, which become active when released from the proregion, display a remarkable variet…
OBJECTIVE: Activated neutrophils extracellularly release antibacterial defensins and cathelicidins from the granules. In this study, to elucidate the interactions between defensins and cathelicidins in the extracellular environment, we evaluated the…