The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
Dyslipidemia in patients with hypercholesterolemia has been recently linked to increased human cathelicidin LL-37 (LL-37) serum concentration. We tested a hypothesis that upregulated expression of LL-37 gene in peripheral blood leucocytes is involved…
Proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) internalize into susceptible bacteria using specific transporters and interfere with protein synthesis and folding. To date, mammalian PrAMPs have so far been identified only in artiodactyls. Since cetacea…
OBJECTIVES: The role of protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) in the pathogenesis of pneumonia and sepsis is ambiguous given the existing literature. As PAR1 is classically activated by the coagulation-based protease thrombin and leads to vascular lea…
The resurgence of Group A(GAS) infections in the past two decades has been a rising major public health concern. Due to a large number of GAS infections occurring in the skin, mast cells (MCs), innate immune cells known to localize to the dermis, cou…
PROBLEM: Calcitriol, the hormonal form of vitamin D(VD), stimulates placental antimicrobial peptides expression; nonetheless, the regulation of calcitriol biosynthesis in the presence of bacterial products and its consequence on placental innate immu…
Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that is not fully understood but involves the complex interplay of genetic factors, immune dysregulation, neurovascular dysregulation, presence of microorganisms, and environmental factors. Increased ac…
BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a highly pruritic, chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with hyperreactivity to environmental triggers. Among those, outdoor air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) have been reported to aggravate…
BACKGROUND Low levels of 1-25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] in serum may be a risk factor for several tumor types. Also, high cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) expression is regarded to be important against tumor progression. We evaluated…
LL-37, the only human cathelicidin that is released during inflammation, is a potent regulator of immune responses by facilitating delivery of oligonucleotides to intracellular TLR-9, thereby enhancing the response of human plasmacytoid dendritic cel…
Classification of streptococci is based upon expression of unique cell wall carbohydrate antigens. All serotypes of group A(GAS;), a leading cause of infection-related mortality worldwide, express the group A carbohydrate (GAC). GAC, the classical La…
TLR expression in neutrophils and monocytes is associated with increased cytokine synthesis, resulting in increased inflammation. However, the inflammatory pathway related to TLR and cathelicidin expression in these cells from CKD patients is unclear…
Respiratory viral infections cause mild to severe diseases, such as common cold, bronchiolitis and pneumonia and are associated with substantial burden for society. To test new molecules for shortening, alleviating the diseases or to develop new ther…
Nonviral transfection has important implications on gene therapy because of its safety. In particular, polyfection and nucleofection are two widely used systems for nonviral gene delivery. Their potential depends on the transfection efficiency achiev…
The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is a ligand-gated plasma membrane ion channel belonging to the P2X receptor subfamily activated by extracellular nucleotides. General consensus holds that the physiological (and maybe the only) agonist is ATP. However, scatt…
Multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant) and VRSA (vancomycin-resistant), causes serious healthcare-associated infections, even sepsis and death. Here, we identified six novel cathelicidins (CATHPb1-6) from Py…
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is an enveloped RNA virus that causes deformities in eggshells. The aim of this study was to investigate the innate immune response to IBV, and to determine whether prostaglandin (PG) E2, which is synthesized during…
The human host defense peptide, LL-37, is an important player in the first line of defense against invading microorganisms. LL-37 and its precursor, hCAP18, have been detected in unstimulated whole saliva but no reports showing hCAP18/LL-37 in isolat…
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is a molecule that modulates the immune response and shows anti-inflammatory effects that are beneficial for the control of chronic diseases such as asthma. The trial aim was to explore the effect of vitamin D supplementation on…
Prostaglandin (PG)Eis an arachidonic acid-derived lipid mediator that plays an important role in inflammation and immunity. In this study, we demonstrate that PGEsuppresses basal and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D(VD)-induced expression of hCAP18/LL-37 via…
The human host defence peptide LL-37 is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with immunomodulatory functions. Residues 18-29 in LL-37 have previously been identified as a minimal peptide (KR-12) that retains antibacterial activity with decreased cytotoxicity.…