The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
In humans, LL-37 and eicosanoids are important mediators of inflammation and immune responses. Here we report that LL-37 promotes leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) generation by human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDMs). LL-37 evokes c…
BACKGROUND: The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is a significant molecule of innate immunity and recent studies indicate that it plays an important role in maintaining oral health. Yet limited knowledge exists on its role in oral diseases and oral lichen…
Introduction. Relation between atherosclerosis and innate immunity has attracted attention. As the antimicrobial peptide, LL-37, could have an important role in atherosclerosis, we supposed that there could be a meaningful association of plasma LL-37…
A role for vitamin A in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been suggested through epidemiological and in vitro studies; however, the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that vitamin A-triggered antimicrobial activity…
Low levels of the vitamin D-regulated antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (LL-37) may negatively impact the immune status of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infected individuals (HIV+). We compared plasma LL-37 levels in healthy controls (HIV-)…
Colonization of epithelium by microorganisms leads to inflammatory responses. In some cases an anti-apoptotic response involving the cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein-2 (cIAP-2) also occurs. Although strong expression of cIAP-2 has been observe…
BACKGROUND: Although vitamin D analogs have been used in the topical treatment of psoriasis, their mechanisms of action are not well understand. Calcitriol, the hormonally active vitamin D3 metabolite, has been demonstrated to exert immunomodulatory…
Studies of time-dependent drug and environmental effects on single, live bacterial cells would benefit significantly from a permeable, nonperturbative, long-lived fluorescent stain specific to the nucleoids (chromosomal DNA). The ideal stain would no…
The pathognesis of psoriasis still remains not fully elucidated. Recent advances favor the idea that interactions between innate and adaptive immune response drive inflammatory process in this disease. Innate antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs…
Protegrins (PGs) are potent antimicrobial peptides that act on a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and some enveloped viruses. We analyzed the expression pattern of protegrins in 17 different pig tissues using RT-PCR, and de…
AIMS: To explore the innate response of human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) exposed to fungus by producing antimicrobial peptides LL-37 and β-defensins. METHODS: Primary HCECs were treated with heat-killed Candida albicans (HKCA) at different dose…
Bacterial resistance against common antibiotics is an increasing health problem. New pharmaceuticals for the treatment of infections caused by resistant pathogens are needed. Small proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) from insects are known t…
Before the antibiotic era, treatment of tuberculosis patients was restricted to sun exposure in sanatoria. Years later, it was found that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 stimulates production of cathelicidins, a family of polypeptides found in lysosomes of…
BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that, in response to microbial infection, activated Müller glia secrete inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and exhibit antimicrobial properties. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanisms and the key com…
Human cathelicidin (hCAP 18) is one of the main immunomodulators in the local immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There has been no information regarding the role of hCAP 18+ in the in vivo production of cytokine in childhood pulmonary tub…
Inflammation is associated with oxidative stress and characterized by elevated levels of damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules released from injured or even living cells into the surrounding microenvironment. One of these endogenous da…
Cathelicidin is a host defense peptide with multiple innate immunity-related functions. Recent findings indicate that cathelicidin is frequently dysregulated in human cancers where it plays a paradoxical yet dominant role in the regulation of tumor m…
BACKGROUND: The effects of the individual variation among dairy cows on the synthesis of cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) are still not well characterised. Therefore, the protein expression profiles of isolated milk epithelial cells (ME…
OBJECTIVE: Sexual transmission of HIV occurs across a mucosal surface, which contains many soluble immune factors important for HIV immunity. Although the composition of mucosal fluids in the vaginal and oral compartments has been studied extensively…
Accelerating rates of health care-associated infections caused by Clostridium difficile, with increasing recurrence and rising antibiotic resistance rates, have become a serious problem in recent years. This study was conducted to explore whether a c…