The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
We hypothesize a potential role for Borrelia burgdorferi OspC in innate immune evasion at the initial stage of mammalian infection. We demonstrate that B. burgdorferi is resistant to high levels (>200 microg/ml) of cathelicidin and that this antimicr…
The biological functions of avian cathelicidins are poorly defined. In mammals, cathelicidins have shown to possess potent broad-range antimicrobial activity as well as immunomodulatory activities. Therefore, we investigated the microbicidal activiti…
Bacterial meningitis is characterized by an inflammation of the meninges and continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Meningeal cells cover the cerebral surface and are involved in the first interaction between pathogens and the…
In this study, chemically synthesized tick defensins and cathelicidin-derived mammalian peptides were used to investigate the activity spectrum against Borrelia garinii and symbiotic Stenotrophomonas maltophila. Synthetic tick defensins showed antimi…
BACKGROUND: Cellular prion-related protein (PrP(c)) is a cell-surface protein that is ubiquitously expressed in the human body. The multifunctionality of PrP(c), and presence of an exposed cationic and heparin-binding N-terminus, a feature characteri…
BACKGROUND: The worldwide appearance of drug-resistant strains of H. pylori motivates a search for new agents with therapeutic potential against this family of bacteria that colonizes the stomach, and is associated with adenocarcinoma development. Th…
Bacillus anthracis is a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Category A priority pathogen and the causative agent of the deadly disease anthrax. We applied a transposon mutagenesis system to screen for novel chromosomally encoded B.…
The immune system in teleosts is not completely developed during embryonic and larval stages and immune competence is assumed to be restricted. This study is the first to address whether immune transcripts are maternally transferred to offspring and…
PURPOSE: Three familial cases of each of severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) and cyclic neutropenia (CN) in addition to 3 sporadic cases of SCN were analyzed for neutrophil elastase (Ela2) gene mutation. The contents of the neutrophil-specific granul…
Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics, resulting in high mortality rates of 19% in Australia and even 50% in Thailand. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) possess potent broad-spectrum…
The human cathelicidin LL-37 is one of the major antimicrobial peptides of the non-specific innate immune system in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Its expression has been reported in epithelial cells infected with mycobacteria. However, the un…
BACKGROUND: Bovine tuberculosis is a highly prevalent infectious disease of cattle worldwide; however, infection in the United States is limited to 0.01% of dairy herds. Thus detection of bovine TB is confounded by high background infection with M. a…
Coagulase-negative staphylococci and its subtype Staphylococcus epidermidis are major indigenous Gram-positive inhabitants of the human skin. Colonization occurs in direct connection with birth and terrestrial adaptation. This study focuses on factor…
LL-37, the only member of the cathelicidin family of cationic host defence peptides in humans, has been shown to mediate multiple immunomodulatory effects and as such is thought to be an important component of innate immune responses. A growing body…
The antimicrobial peptide database (APD, http://aps.unmc.edu/AP/main.php) has been updated and expanded. It now hosts 1228 entries with 65 anticancer, 76 antiviral (53 anti-HIV), 327 antifungal and 944 antibacterial peptides. The second version of ou…
The immunological function of the metatherian mammary gland plays a crucial part in neonatal survival of the marsupial young. Marsupial pouch young do not develop adult like immune responses until just prior to leaving the pouch. The immune component…
alpha- and -defensin-, magainin-, and cathelicidin-type antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can kill the pathogenic protozoan Leishmania. Comparative studies of a panel of AMPs have defined two distinct groups: those that induce nonapoptotic (Class I) and…
BACKGROUND: Cervical-vaginal fluid (CVF) plays an important role in the prevention of gynecological infections, although little is known about the contribution of CVF proteins to the immunity of the lower female genital tract. In order to analyze the…
The human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is involved in various aspects of skin biology, including protection against infection, wound healing, and also in psoriasis. The tight regulation of apoptosis is critical in tissue repair and its de…