The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
Jak inhibitors are increasingly used in dermatology. Despite broad inhibitory effects on cytokine signaling cascades, they only modestly increase the risk for infectious diseases. To address the molecular mechanisms underlying this unexpected clinica…
Cyclic 2',3'-GMP-AMP (cGAMP) binds to and activates stimulator of interferon genes (STING), which then induces interferons to drive immune responses against tumors and pathogens. Exogenous cGAMP produced by infected and malignant cells and synthetic…
Chronic wounds represent a major health problem worldwide. Some of the available therapies based on recombinant proteins usually fail owing to the hostile environment found at the wound bed. Aptamers appear as an attractive alternative to recombinant…
OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlation between salivary human β defensin-2 (HBD-2) and LL-37 expression levels and blood glucose in relationship to periodontal status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: The trial is available at…
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate if desquamated oral epithelial cells (DOECs) express the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and if these cells thereby may contribute to salivary EGF contents. BACKGROUND: DOECs have recently been shown…
The identification of practical early diagnostic biomarkers is a cornerstone of improved prevention and treatment of cancers. Such a case is devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a highly lethal transmissible cancer afflicting virtually an entire specie…
Host defense against early-life infections such as chorioamnionitis, neonatal sepsis, or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) relies primarily on innate immunity, in which antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a major role. AMPs that are important for the fe…
Systemic phaeohyphomycosis caused by Veronaea botryosa is one of the most important emergent diseases to affect sturgeon aquaculture in North America. White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) cultured at temperatures above 15 °C are at higher risk of…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising pharmaceutical candidates for the prevention and treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistantpathogens, which are responsible for the majority of hospital-acquired infections. Clinical translation…
The impact of COVID-19 on systemic immunity in the general population has been well characterized, however the short-term effects of COVID-19 infection on innate salivary immunity in elite-level athletes are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to de…
Infectious diseases in pigs cause monetary loss to farmers and pose a zoonotic risk. Therefore, it is important to obtain more porcine specific immunological knowledge as a measure to protect against infectious diseases, for example by exploring immu…
Post-weaning diarrheic colitis, often caused by enteropathogens, are severe and potentially lethal diseases in young pigs. Conventional treatment with antibiotics is problematic due to increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria. Few alter…
BACKGROUND: Crotalicidin (Ctn), a snake venom cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide, is a 34-residue-long linear lysine-rich vipericidin obtained from the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus terrificus. Ctn contains tandem repeats of n…
Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, an etiologic agent of swine dysentery (SD), is known for causing colitis. Although some aspects of colonic defenses during infection have been described previously, a more comprehensive picture of the host and microbiota i…
BACKGROUND: Older adults are more susceptible to respiratory tract infection than healthy working age adults. The increased susceptibility of older adults is thought to be interlinked with vitamin D status, nourishment, and immunological state in gen…
The mechanisms for maintaining oral cavity homeostasis are subject to the constant influence of many environmental factors, including various chemicals and microorganisms. Most of them act directly on the oral mucosa, which is the mechanical and immu…
Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that manifests abnormal enhanced sensitivity to environmental stimuli. The decreased prevalence of rosacea in aged population has been reported, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, w…
Vitamin D, best known for its role in skeletal health, has emerged as a key regulator of innate immune responses to microbial threat. In immune cells such as macrophages, expression of CYP27B1, the 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1α-hydroxylase, is induced by im…
Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most common cardiac emergencies with high morbidity and is a leading cause of death worldwide. Since MI could develop into a life-threatening emergency and could also seriously affect the life quality of patie…