The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
According to the World Health Organisation South Africa has the third highest tuberculosis (TB) incidence in the world, with an estimated 60 % incident cases having both TB and HIV. The South African National Tuberculosis Association (SANTA) recogniz…
BACKGROUND: During bacterial infections of the airways, a Th1-profiled inflammation promotes the production of several host defense proteins and peptides with antibacterial activities including β-defensins, ELR-negative CXC chemokines, and the cathel…
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a large group of environmental organisms with worldwide distribution, but only a relatively few are known to be pathogenic. Chronic, debilitating lung disease is the most common manifestation of NTM infection, wh…
N-formyl peptide receptors (FPR1, FPR2 and FPR3) are involved in innate immunity, inflammation and cancer. FPR expression, initially described in immune cells, was later observed in non-hematopoietic cell populations and tissues. Several studies sugg…
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the causative agent of chronic respiratory infections and is an important pathogen of cystic fibrosis patients. Adaptive mutations play an essential role for antimicrobial resistance and persistence. The factors that contrib…
LL-37 is a cationic peptide belonging to the cathelicidin family that has antimicrobial and immune-modulatory properties. Here we show that the mammalian mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase-1 (ART1), which selectively transfers the ADP-ribose moiety from NAD…
Human monocytes activated by toll-like receptor 2/1 ligand (TLR2/1L) show enhanced expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the vitamin D-activating enzyme 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1). The resulting intracrine conversion of precursor 25-hydroxyvit…
Lactose handling by the human gut by most people, beyond being breast-fed, has been considered a disorder rather than physiological. A non-human mammalian milk source is novel for the majority. During the first 6 months of life, when neonates and inf…
BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are an important defense mechanism of the innate immune system and can modulate the course of various diseases. However, their significance during liver pathogenesis is currently not well defined. METHODS: Pat…
Natural selection, the most important force in evolution, comes in three forms. Negative purifying selection removes deleterious variation and maintains adaptations. Positive directional selection fixes beneficial variants, producing new adaptations.…
Worldwide, preeclampsia is a significant health risk to both pregnant women and their unborn children. Despite scientific advances, the exact pathogenesis of preeclampsia is not yet fully understood. Meanwhile, the incidence of preeclampsia is expect…
The human cathelicidin LL-37 is a multifunctional host defense peptide with immunomodulatory and antimicrobial roles. It kills bacteria primarily by altering membrane barrier properties, although the exact sequence of events leading to cell lysis has…
RATIONALE: The PR-39 porcine cathelicidin occurs naturally in animal neutrophils. Its main function is antimicrobial activity, which potentially can be used in antibiotic treatments in veterinary medicine. Investigations concerning such a use require…
One of the many functions of skin is to protect the organism against a wide range of pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by the skin epithelium provide an effective chemical shield against microbial pathogens. However, whereas antibacte…
Cathelicidins are a family of gene-encoded peptide effectors of innate immunity found exclusively in vertebrates. They play pivotal roles in host immune defense against microbial invasions. Dozens of cathelicidins have been identified from several ve…
Mas-related genes (Mrgs) belong to a large family of G protein-coupled receptor genes found in rodents. Human MRGX proteins are G protein-coupled 7-transmembrane proteins sharing 41-52% amino acid identity with each other, but have no orthologs in ro…
BACKGROUND: Recent evidence about the various effects of vitamin D (vit D) on innate and adaptive immunity has led to a search for the role of vit D in asthma. It is postulated that a decrease in cathelicidin, a multifunctional host defense molecule,…
BACKGROUND: An increase in Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization in atopic dermatitis patients resulted from the reduction of cathelicidin production in these patients. Recently, an in vivo study demonstrated that vitamin D could stimulate cathelic…
OBJECTIVES: The human antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (LL-37) possesses anti-inflammatory properties that may contribute to attenuating the inflammatory process associated with chronic periodontitis. Plant polyphenols, including those from cranber…