14102 studies
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…
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…
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…
The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is generated from skin keratinocytes during infection of Gram-negative bacteria and exerts a microbicidal effect. LL-37 also causes functional changes in mast cells. Mast cells in the skin are involved in the innate im…
Antimicrobial peptides, such as cathelicidin, are an evolutionarily old defense system. However they have more complex actions than just simply their antimicrobial effects, including immunoregulation and interaction with the adaptive immune system. I…
The expression and localization of the human sperm protein hCAP-18/SOB3 were evaluated in human testis and epididymis through in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry with the use of an anti-recombinant hCAP-18/SOB3 polyclonal antibody. Both hC…
OBJECTIVE: To develop and investigate GLL-37, a substitution analogue of the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 with anti-enzymatic degradation activity and improved efficacy. METHODS: The bactericidal activities of LL-37 and newly developed GLL-37 ag…
INTRODUCTION: Cathelicidins are antimicrobial peptides found in epithelial and mucosal tissues as well as the secondary granules of neutrophils. SMAP29, a sheep cathelicidin, has differential antimicrobial properties against various pathogens, includ…
The cathelin-like domain (CLD) of the antimicrobial cathelicidin family constitutes a unique protein family with structural similarity to cystatins, the cysteine protease inhibitors. CLDs are derived from the processed amino-terminal prosequence of t…
INTRODUCTION: Changes in the respiratory epithelium and chronic and recurrent infections are thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of otitis media and sinusitis. The airway epithelium is the primary defense system of the respiratory trac…
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…
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…
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…
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3), the active form of vitamin D, is a major regulator of the expression of the cationic antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin, not only in monocytes but also in epidermal keratinocytes. The involvement of cathelicidin in wound h…
Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) and membrane lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) are the major polyanionic polymers in the envelope of Staphylococcus aureus. WTAs in S. aureus play an important role in bacteriophage attachment and bacterial adherence to certain hos…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…