The only human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, playing key roles in innate immune defense, wound healing, and modulation of inflammatory responses.
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D[VitD, 1,25 (OH)D] is known to have immunomodulatory and anti-microbial properties; however, its activity againstis unclear. In this study, we establishedinfection models in wild-type and VitDreceptor (VDR) knockdown mice and ana…
AIMS: We previously associated acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with decreased plasma LL-37 levels. Therefore, this study investigated whether plasma LL-37 levels could predict ischemic cardiovascular events in patients after STEMI. M…
BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive skin sampling is used in various fields. In this study, we examined whether it was possible to obtain skin specimens using biocompatible microneedles composed of sodium hyaluronate and performed transcriptome analysis.…
BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause for morbidity and mortality associated with skin and burn wound infections. Therapeutic options for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have dwindled and therefore alternative treatments are urg…
Adaptation to various stresses during infection is important forTyphimurium virulence, while the fitness determinants under infection-relevant stress conditions remain unknown. Here, we simulated conditionsencountered within the host or in the enviro…
Ex vivo-produced dendritic cells (DCs) constitute the core of active cellular immunotherapy (ACI) for cancer treatment. After many disappointments in clinical trials, the current protocols for their preparation are attempting to boost their therapeut…
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens associated with infection in wounds. The current standard of care uses a combination of disinfection and drainage followed by conventional antibiotics such as methicillin. Methicillin and vanc…
Sight is arguably the most important sense in human. Being constantly exposed to the environmental stress, irritants and pathogens, the ocular surface - a specialized functional and anatomical unit composed of tear film, conjunctival and corneal epit…
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria constitutes a permeability barrier that prevents certain antibiotics reaching their target, thus conferring a high tolerance to a wide range of antibiotics. Combined therapies of antibiotics and outer memb…
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are generally characterized by persistent abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by chronic inflammation in the intestine. Cathelicidins are antimicrobial peptides with pleiotropic roles in anti-infection, w…
Bacterial keratitis (BK) is a major cause of corneal blindness globally. This study aimed to develop a novel class of antimicrobial therapy, based on human-derived hybrid host defense peptides (HyHDPs), for treating BK. HyHDPs were rationally designe…
Temporary cessation of milking is widely used during the dry period of dairy cows. Temporary cessation of milking induces an increase in the somatic cell count (SCC) and level of several inflammatory components of milk, which is believed to be a loca…
With the growing challenges of bacteria becoming resistant to conventional antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may offer a potential alternative. One of the most studied AMPs, the human cathelicidin derived AMP LL-37 is notable for its antimic…
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) contribute to an effective protection against infections. The antibacterial function of AMPs depends on their interactions with microbial membranes and lipids, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS; endotoxin). Hyperinflammati…
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) gains access to host cells by attaching to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Vitamin D (VitD) can upregulate ACE2 and has an antagonistic effect on Renin, which exerts a vasodilatatio…
The deployment of the innate immune system in humans is essential to protect us from infection. Human cathelicidin LL-37 is a linear host defense peptide with both antimicrobial and immune modulatory properties. Despite years of studies of numerous p…
One of defense mechanisms of the human immune system to counteract infection by the opportunistic fungal pathogenis the recruitment of neutrophils to the site of invasion, and the subsequent production of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that ef…
As components of the innate immune response, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) efficiently contribute to infection control and maintenance of a latent state in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). As a therapeutic strategy, the administration of recombinant AMPs…
BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis has low treatment success rates, and new treatment strategies are needed. We explored whether treatment with active vitamin D3 (vitD) and phenylbutyrate (PBA) could improve conventional chemotherapy…
Japanese quail is a low-fat, meat-bird species exhibiting high disease resistance. Cathelicidins (CATHs) are host defense peptides conserved across numerous vertebrate species that play an important role in innate immunity. The activity of host defen…