15038 studies
Infections on implanted medical devices are a challenging problem, especially when bacteria form difficult-to-treat biofilms. Antimicrobial peptides are considered to be a solution due to their potency against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Previous…
Fungal infections caused by Candida spp. represent an emerging problem during treatment of immunocompromised patients and those hospitalized with serious principal diseases. The ever-growing number of fungal strains exhibiting drug resistance necessi…
The healing of burn wounds is often hampered by bacterial infection and the formation of biofilms. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effective in promoting wound healing, but are susceptible to degradation. We have tested the ability of ceragenins (C…
Cerebral toxoplasmosis is characterized by activation of brain resident cells and recruitment of specific immune cell subsets from the periphery to the central nervous system (CNS). Our studies revealed that the rapidly invaded Ly6Gneutrophil granulo…
Membrane interactions are critical for the successful use of inorganic nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents and as carriers of, or co-actives with, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). In order to contribute to an increased understanding of these, we here…
Development of new antibacterial agents requires generation of new methods that will allow characterization of mechanisms of novel antibacterial actions as well as observation of pathogen susceptibility to antibiotics. A family of synthetic cationic…
is a keystone pathogen that contributes to periodontal pathogenesis by disrupting host-microbe homeostasis and promoting dysbiosis. The virulence oflikely reflects an alteration in the lipid A composition of its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the pent…
BACKGROUND: Sustained exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is a global cause of mortality. Coal fly ash (CFA) is a byproduct of coal combustion and is a source of anthropogenic PM with worldwide health relevance. The airway epithelia are lined…
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D modulates the inflammatory and immune response to tuberculosis (TB) and also mediates the induction of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin. Deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the v…
Activation of the immune system needs to be tightly regulated to provide protection against infections and, at the same time, to prevent excessive inflammation to limit collateral damage to the host. This tight regulation includes regulating the acti…
Chronic hyperglycemia increases the carbon flux through the hexosamine pathway, allowing the accumulation of UDP-GlcNAc. UDP-GlcNAc is the sugar donor for the enzyme-mediated protein glycosylation event known as OGlcNAcylation. This posttranslational…
Endodontic treatment is mainly based on root canal disinfection and its failure may be motivated by microbial resistance. Endodontic therapy can be benefitted by host defense peptides (HDPs), which are multifunctional molecules that act against persi…
Cathelicidins display in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory activities and are part of the innate immune system. Previously, we found that in ovo treatment with chicken cathelicidin CATH-2 partially protects young broilers against respiratory E. coli…
BACKGROUND: Identifying physiologically relevant binding partners of amyloid-β (Aβ) that modulate in vivo fibril formation may yield new insights into Alzheimer's disease (AD) etiology. Human cathelicidin peptide, LL-37, is an innate immune effector…
BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have demonstrated pro-healing properties due to their anti-inflammatory, angiogenic, and even antibacterial properties. We have shown previously that minocycline enhances the wound healing phenotype o…
primarily infects lung macrophages. However, a recent study showed thatalso infects and persists in a dormant form inside bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) even after successful antibiotic therapy. However, the mechanism(s) by whichsurvive…
UNLABELLED: Vitamin D has immunomodulating properties. The nuclear receptor for vitamin D is expressed in several immune cells, which convert 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) to the active form 1,25 hydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)D]. Under conditions of infect…
BACKGROUND: Cationic antibacterial peptides (CAPs) and synthetic molecules mimicking the amphiphilic structure of CAPs, such as ceragenins, are promising compounds for the development of new antimicrobials. RESULTS: We tested the in vitro activity of…
Intercalated cells of the collecting duct (CD) are critical for acid-base homeostasis and innate immune defense of the kidney. Little is known about the impact of acidosis on innate immune defense in the distal nephron. Urinary tract infections are m…
Vitamin D deficiency is a common health problem with consequences not limited to bone and calcium hemostasis. Low levels have also been linked to tuberculosis and other respiratory infections as well as autoimmune diseases. We have previously shown t…