The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
BACKGROUND: Death of smooth muscle cells in the atherosclerotic plaques makes the plaques more prone to rupture, which can initiate an acute ischemic event. The development of atherosclerosis includes the migration of immune cells e.g. monocytes/macr…
OBJECTIVE: Antimicrobial peptides are effector molecules of the innate immune system. To understand the function of vascular innate immunity in atherosclerosis, we investigated the role of LL-37, a cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, in the disease p…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effector molecules of innate immunity. Dermcidin (DCD), a recently discovered AMP with broad-spectrum activity, is produced constitutively by the eccrine sweat glands and secreted into sweat. In this study, we invest…
The protein pattern of healthy human eccrine sweat was investigated and 10 major proteins were detected from which apolipoprotein D, lipophilin B, and cathepsin D (CatD) were identified for the first time in human eccrine sweat. We focused our studie…
BACKGROUND: The cathelicidin family of antimicrobial peptides is an integral component of the innate immune response that exhibits activity against bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. Eczema herpeticum (ADEH) develops in a subset of patients with…
Shigella is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and growth retardation for children in developing countries. Emergence of antibiotic resistance among Shigellae demands the development of effective medicines. Previous studies found that the endogen…
BACKGROUND: Epithelial cells can be called the first line of a defense barrier to microorganisms by the innate immune system. The antimicrobial peptides are the major participants of this system. Cathelicidins are a family of peptides thought to prov…
The human cathelicidin LL-37 has been shown to be involved in the barrier function of the innate immunity, being released from specific cells upon challenge and exerting immunomodulatory effects. We here demonstrate that LL-37 affects immature dendri…
Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an increased risk of infection with several viruses compared to patients with other inflammatory skin disorders such as psoriasis. In this issue of Immunity, it is found that the cytokine milieu in the skin o…
Lipid A structure at the air-aqueous interface has been studied using pressure-area isotherm methods coupled with the surface X-ray scattering techniques of X-ray reflectivity (XR) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD). Lipid A monolayers we…
The antimicrobial protein cathelicidin is considered to play an important role in the defense mechanisms against bacterial infection. Recent studies show that sodium butyrate induces cathelicidin gene expression in human colonic, gastric and hepatic…
Human Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells play a crucial role in early immune response to intracellular pathogens. Moreover, in brucellosis, these cells are drastically increased in the peripheral blood of patients during the acute phase of infection. In vitro, V…
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterized by the presence of eosinophils and neutrophils. However, the mechanisms that mediate the influx of these cells are incompletely u…
The in vitro activity of the cathelicidin tritrpticin was investigated against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The isolates were susceptible to the peptide at concentrations of 0.50 to 8 mg/liter. Tritrpticin completely inhibits lipopolys…
An experimental study was designed to investigate the efficacy of BMAP-27, a compound of the cathelicidin family, in neutralizing Escherichia coli 0111:B4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in bile duct-ligated mice. Main outcome measures were: endotoxin and T…
LL-37 is a human cationic host defense peptide that is present in the specific granules of neutrophils, produced by epithelial cells from a variety of tissues, and is upregulated during inflammation, infection, and injury. It has been proposed to hav…
BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial peptides are components of the innate immunity that play an important role in systemic and oral health. OBJECTIVES: The antibacterial activity of the amphibian-derived K4 -S4(1-15)a antimicrobial peptide was tested against o…
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with eczema vaccinatum (EV), a disseminated viral skin infection that follows inoculation with vaccinia virus (VV). This study examined whether AD skin can control VV replication, and the role of IL-4 and IL-13 in…