15038 studies
The expressions of LL-37 and KLK-5 were found to be altered in various dermatoses, including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and rosacea. However, the downstream inflammatory effect of LL-37 and KLK-5 is not as well studied. In addition, there is littl…
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are major producers of type I interferons in response to activation of endosomal toll-like receptors (TLRs), e.g. TLR9. While a number of cell biological and intracellular signaling events associated with TLR9 acti…
Rosacea is a chronic skin disease characterized by photosensitivity, abnormal dermal vascular behavior, inflammation, and enhanced expression of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37. We observed that dermal endothelial cells in rosacea had an increased ex…
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes chronic diarrheic intestinal infections in domestic and wild ruminants (paratuberculosis or Johne's disease) for which there is no effective treatment. Critical in the pathogenesis of MAP infec…
Comparisons of infectivity among the clinically important nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species have not been explored in great depth. Rapid-growing mycobacteria, includingand, can cause indolent but progressive lung disease. Slow-growing members…
AIMS: Crotalicidin (Ctn), a cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide from the South American rattlesnake venom gland, and its C-terminal Ctn[15-34] fragment, have exhibited important activities against micro-organisms, trypanosomatid protozoa and c…
Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory cutaneous disease which mainly affects central face, leading to cosmetic disfigurement and compromised social psychology in billions of rosacea patients. Though the exact etiology of rosacea remains elusive, accumula…
BACKGROUND: Surrogate markers that accurately detect mucosal healing [MH] in patients with ulcerative colitis [UC] are urgently needed. Several stool neutrophil-related proteins are currently used as biomarkers for MH. However, the sensitivity and sp…
Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that colonizes human gastro-intestinal mucosal tissues. Its effect on the immune response in intestinal epithelial cells and on the intestinal mucosal barrier are not yet fully understood. In this…
PROBLEM: Vitamin D is well-known for having anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Impaired maternal vitamin D status has been known to increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes like pre-term birth. The present study aims to evaluat…
Bacterial infection of orthopaedic implants, often caused by Staphylococcus species, may ultimately lead to implant failure. The development of infection-resistant, osteoblast-compatible biomaterials could represent an effective strategy to prevent b…
The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 neutralizes the biological activity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), while it upregulates the expression of several immune-related genes. We investigated the effect of LL-37 on gene regulation of human gingival fibroblasts…
Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is considered a primary pathogen of canine skin and soft tissue infections, and the rapid emergence of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius worldwide is a major issue. In the current study, genotypic and phenotypi…
Host defense peptides (HDPs) are crucial components of the body's first line of defense that protect organisms from infections and mediate immune responses. Defensins and cathelicidins are the two most important families of HDPs in mammals. In this r…
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is highly prevalent, and has developed antimicrobial resistance to virtually all existing antibiotics. Currently, treatment of H. pylori infection (involving proton pump inhibitors and broad-spectrum antibiot…
Accidental phosgene exposure can result in acute lung injury (ALI). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been found to alleviate phosgene-induced ALI. However, the mechanism of MSCs underlying such protective effect remains largely unexplored. Exosomes…
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have demonstrated promise in pathogenic acute respiratory distress syndrome models and are advancing to clinical efficacy testing. Besides immunomodulatory effects, MSC derived conditioned medium (CM) has direct…
Given the role of host defense peptides (HDPs) in the defensive response against mycobacteria, we analyzed the circulating levels of LL-37, β-defensin-2 and -3 in newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary (PTB) or pleural tuberculosis (PLTB) in whom me…
As the international space community plans for manned missions to Mars, spaceflight-associated immune dysregulation has been identified as a potential risk to the health and safety of the flight crew. There is a need to determine whether salivary ant…
Severe pulmonary infection is a major threat to human health accompanied by substantial medical costs, prolonged inpatient requirements, and high mortality rates. New antimicrobial therapeutic strategies are urgently required to address the emergence…