The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
To elucidate pathways in bladder inflammation, we employed our physiologically relevant LL-37 induced cystitis model. Based on inflammatory studies involving other organ systems implicating the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), we…
Staphylococcus aureus infections present an enormous global health concern complicated by an alarming increase in antibiotic resistance. S. aureus is among the few bacterial species that express nitric-oxide synthase (bNOS) and thus can catalyze NO p…
BACKGROUND: Ustekinumab is a fully human anti-p40 monoclonal antibody which neutralizes interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23, thereby interfering with T-helper (Th)1/Th17 pathways and keratinocyte activation, and is highly effective in the treatment of psor…
We are exposed to millions of microbial and dietary antigens via the gastrointestinal tract, which likely play a key role in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We differentiated the effects of these two major environmental factors on gut immunity and T1D. Diabet…
The increasing resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics and the challenges posed by intracellular bacteria, which may be responsible for chronic and recurrent infections, have driven the need for advanced antimicrobial drugs for effective e…
At hatching, the immune system of the rainbow trout larva is not fully developed. The larva emerges from the egg and is exposed to the aquatic freshwater environment containing pathogenic organisms. At this early stage, protection from disease causin…
Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii have emerged as a serious global health problem. We have shown previously that A. baumannii can become resistant to the last-line antibiotic colistin via the loss of lipopolysaccharide…
INTRODUCTION: The presence of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC) and histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (pPROM). Therefore…
The endocannabinoid 2-AG is highly susceptible to its hydrolysis into AA, which activates neutrophils through de novo LTB(4) biosynthesis, independently of CB activation. In this study, we show that 2-AG and AA stimulate neutrophils to release antimi…
The IQ-motif is an amphipathic, often positively charged, α-helical, calmodulin binding sequence found in a number of eukaryote signalling, transport and cytoskeletal proteins. They share common biophysical characteristics with established, cationic…
Tuberculosis causes close to 1.5 million deaths in the world, with new cases exceeding 9 million in recent years. Coinfection with HIV further worsens the global situation. New molecules that overcome the limitations of currently used drugs are neede…
Over the past several years, much has been revealed about the roles of autophagy and the mechanisms by which the autophagic pathway activates the host innate effector response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. In response to invadin…
A variety of external perturbations can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, followed by stimulation of epithelial cells to produce an innate immune element, the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). ER stress also increases production of t…
To compare the effects of four antimicrobial peptides (MUC7 12-mer, histatin 12-mer, cathelicidin KR20, and a peptide containing lactoferricin amino acids 1 to 11) on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we employed a genomewide fitness screen of comb…
Antimicrobial peptides or host defense peptides are fundamental components of human innate immunity. Recent and growing evidence suggests they have a role in a broad range of diseases, including cancer, allergies and susceptibility to infection, incl…
During bacterial infections, antimicrobial peptides are synthesised as an important part of the innate immune system. However, expression and function in the central nervous system (CNS) need further investigations. The aim of this study was to exami…
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major worldwide health problem in part due to the lack of development of new treatments and the emergence of new strains such as multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant strains that are threatening and impairin…
OBJECTIVES: We aim to develop antibacterial peptide mimics resistant to protease degradation, with broad-spectrum activity at sites of infection. METHODS: The bactericidal activities of LL-37, ceragenins CSA-13, CSA-90 and CSA-92 and the spermine-con…
Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is an "endocrine" FGF acting in the kidney as a phosphaturic hormone and a suppressor of active vitamin D, through an inhibition of the 1α hydroxylase and a stimulation of the 24 hydroxylase. Beyond its well-known…