The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
Gut barrier disruption caused by enteric pathogen infection results in activated diabetogenic T cells and accelerated type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) maintains intestinal barrier integrity, regulates the micr…
Membranes are essential to cellular organisms, and play several roles in cellular protection as well as in the control and transport of nutrients. One of the most critical membrane properties is fluidity, which has been extensively studied, using mai…
BACKGROUND: Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder with increasing prevalence and challenging management. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) may be a promising adjuvant treatment for rosacea. METHODS: This study investigated the efficacy of PBMT for the t…
BACKGROUND: The lungs are the organ most likely to sustain serious injury from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the mechanisms for long-term complications are not clear. Patients with severe COVID-19 have shorter telomere lengths and hig…
Innovative solutions are needed for the treatment of bacterial infections, and a range of antibacterial molecules have been explored as alternatives to antibiotics. A different approach is to investigate the immune system of the host for new ways of…
Human LL-37is an antimicrobial peptide forming thermostable supramolecular fibrils that surround bacterial cells. The crystal structure of LL-37bearing an I24C substitution of most buried position in the fibril revealed disulfide-bonded dimers that f…
Numerous epithelial cells and sometimes leukocytes release AMPs as their first line of defense. AMPs encompass cationic histatins, defensins, and cathelicidin to encounter oral pathogens with minimal resistance. However, their concentrations are sign…
As antimicrobial resistance poses an increasing threat to public health, it is urgent to develop new antimicrobial agents. In this paper, we identify a novel 30-residue peptide (Nv-CATH, NCNFLCKVKQRLRSVSSTSHIGMAIPRPRG) from the skin of the frog, whic…
Vibrio vulnificus, an opportunistic human pathogen responsible for primary septicemia, initiates pathogenesis by attachment to the intestinal epithelial cells for which the motility by the polar flagellum plays an essential role. The proteomic analys…
Infections are common in patients with diabetes, but increasing antibiotic resistance hampers successful bacterial clearance and calls for alternative treatment strategies. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is known to influence the innate immune de…
OBJECTIVE: Paeniclostridium sordellii is a pathogen that causes rapidly fatal infections characterized by severe edema, extreme leukemoid reaction and lack of an innate immune response. We recently identified a metalloproteinase of P. sordellii-1 (Mc…
Antimicrobial host defence peptides (HDP) are critical for the first line of defence against bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens. Over the past decade we have become more aware that, in addition to their antimicrobial roles, they also possess the…
The recent epidemic caused by aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 virus illustrates the importance and vulnerability of the mucosal epithelial barrier against infection. Antimicrobial proteins and peptides (AMPs) are key to the epithelial barrier, providing immun…
Post-weaning diarrheic colitis, often caused by enteropathogens, are severe and potentially lethal diseases in young pigs. Conventional treatment with antibiotics is problematic due to increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria. Few alter…
LL-37, the only human host cathelicidin peptide, is proposed to be able to induce host cell apoptosis through mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP). Detailed pathways of the LL-37-triggered MMP are however still disputed. It is generally beli…
Pulmonary fibrosis is becoming an increasingly common pathology worldwide. Unfortunately, this disorder is characterized by a bad prognosis: no treatment is known, and the survival rate is dramatically low. One of the most frequent reasons for pulmon…
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: DNA-based therapeutic vaccines have been proposed as a promising strategy for the treatment of established HIV infections. However, these vaccines are often associated with certain shortcomings, such as poor immunogenicity…
Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been described as a potential trigger of severe COVID-19. NETs are known as extracellular DNA fibers released by neutrophils in response to infection. If the host is unable to balance efficient clearance of…
Effectively killing pathogenic bacteria is key for the treatment of sepsis. Although various anti-infective drugs have been used for the treatment of sepsis, the therapeutic effect is largely limited by the lack of a specific bacterium-targeting deli…
OBJECTIVES: To detect cathelicidin levels in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as a potential marker for diabetic vascular complications and to assess its relation to diastolic dysfunction as an index for subclinical macrovasculopathy. ME…