The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are the causative organisms in more than 80% of urinary tract infections. The bacteria are introduced to the urinary tract that, except for the external part of the urethra, is free from microbial colonization, a…
Erythema Toxicum, a rash frequently present in the healthy newborn infant is an innate, immune response to the first commensal micro flora. Flushing and urtication are seen in this manifestation suggesting mast cell (MC) activation and MC derived med…
The increasing prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from hospital- and community-acquired respiratory tract infections is an important public health concern worldwide. The majority of S. aureus strains produce staphylokinase, a plasmi…
The human cathelicidin LL-37 is a cationic host defense peptide and serves as an important component of innate immunity. It has been demonstrated to be a multifunctional modulator of innate immune responses, although the mechanism(s) underlying this…
Progesterone (P), required for successful pregnancy, influences autoimmune, infectious, and malignant diseases via adaptive and innate immune effects. P induces NK inhibitor progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) in CD8+ T cells. PIBF isoforms c…
We performed a comparative study of effects of two structurally different cationic antimicrobial peptides of cathelicidin family, porcine protegrin 1 (PG1) and caprine bactenecin 5 (Bac5) on selected tumor and normal mammalian cells in vitro. Protegr…
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Recently published studies presenting novel and relevant information on defensins and other antimicrobial peptides in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are reviewed. RECENT FINDINGS: Different clinical localizations of Crohn's…
Preterm labour is a major problem in obstetrics. Timely intervention with available treatments is hampered by the lack of a reliable test of imminent preterm delivery. Current methods of diagnosis are based on the detection of breakdown products of f…
Oral epithelium is a stratified squamous epithelium that functions as the barrier between the outside environment and the host. In the oral cavity, epithelial tissues are constantly exposed to a variety of bacteria, but most individuals maintain heal…
LL-37 is an alpha-helical antimicrobial peptide of human origin. It is a 37 residue cathelicidin peptide. This paper explores the use of electrochemical methods to investigate the interaction of LL-37 with phospholipid and lipid A monolayers on a mer…
The constitutive expression of human cathelicidin LL-37 antimicrobial peptide was achieved using the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris. An LL-37 cDNA clone was amplified by PCR using human fetal cDNA library as template. The 111 bp fragment encod…
A unifying theme common to the action of many cationic peptides that display lethal activities against microbial pathogens is their specific action at microbial membranes that results in selective loss of ions and small nucleotides-chiefly ATP. One m…
Growth factors, comprising diverse protein and peptide families, are involved in a multitude of developmental processes, including embryogenesis, angiogenesis, and wound healing. Here we show that peptides derived from HB-EGF, amphiregulin, hepatocyt…
Human organism, constantly exposed to a large variety of pathogenic microorganisms and their products, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), developed innate immunity as a first line of defence. One of the compartments of our organism well equipped with…
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We have previously reported different susceptibilities of periodontopathic and nonperiodontopathic bacteria to antimicrobial peptides and phagocytosis by neutrophils. Differences between the two groups of bacteria may exist…
Gingival innate immunity has been studied by using biopsies and normal or transformed epithelial cell monolayers. To overcome individual biological variabilities and as a physiological alternative, we have proposed using a reconstructed tissue equiva…
PR-39 is a cathelicidin with antimicrobial properties, which acts as a suppressor of inflammation and exerts a number of additional activities. We investigated for the first time the effect of PR-39 on human cells, by addressing the possible interfer…
Chronic neutropenia comprises several different diseases that vary in degree of severity and management. We analysed the levels of the neutrophil-derived protein pro-LL-37 in plasma of patients with chronic neutropenia to assess whether it could be u…
BACKGROUND: Recurrent acute tonsillitis is one of the most frequent ENT referrals, yet its pathogenesis remains poorly understood, and tonsillectomy still costs the National Health Service more than pound 60,000000 annually. Antimicrobial cationic pe…
BACKGROUND: A feature of psoriasis is the rapid proliferation of keratinocytes, during which apoptosis is blocked and angiogenesis starts. It is known that tumor hypoxic cells produce histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC-1), which up-regulates hypoxia-inducib…