Sindbis virus expression vectors have been used successfully to express and silence genes of interest in vivo in several mosquito species, including Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. triseriatus,Culex pipiens, Armigeres subalbatus and Anopheles gambiae. Here we describe the expression of an endogenous gene, defensin, in Ae. aegypti using the orally infectious Sindbis virus, MRE/3'2J expression...

Defensins, cysteine-rich cationic polypeptides released from neutrophils, are known to have powerful antimicrobial properties. In this study, we sacrificed 30 rats to investigate the effects of α-defensin 1 on detrusor muscle contractions in isolated rat bladder. From the experiments we found relaxing effects of α-defensin 1 on the contractions induced by phenylephrine (PE) but not by bethanech...

The intestinal epithelium serves as a barrier to the intestinal flora. In response to pathogens, intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) secrete proinflammatory cytokines. To aid in defense against bacteria, IEC also secrete antimicrobial peptides, termed defensins. The aim of our studies was to understand the role of TLR signaling in regulation of beta-defensin expression by IEC. The effect of LPS a...

Two non-cationic defensin-like antimicrobial peptides, named Amblyomma defensin peptide 1 and Amblyomma defensin peptide 2, were identified from the hard tick, Amblyomma hebraeum, by a combination of suppression subtractive hybridization for differentially expressed genes and proteomics. cDNA clones encoding each of these two defensin-like antimicrobial peptides were isolated from the different...

AIM To determine if beta defensins are expressed in the anterior segment of the eye and to determine the temporal pattern of expression using a real time semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). METHODS Ocular tissue (corneal epithelium, conjunctiva, iris, and lens capsule) was collected from 23 patients undergoing surgery. Serial corneal or conjunctival impr...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have demonstrated that the administration of antibiotics to patients before performing diagnostic testing for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can interfere with the accuracy of test results. Although a single-institution study has suggested that alpha-defensin maintains its concentration and sensitivity even after antibiotic treatment, this has not yet been demo...

Recent analysis of the bovine genome revealed an expanded suite of β-defensin genes that encode what are referred to as antimicrobial or host defense peptides (HDPs). Whereas primate genomes also encode α- and θ-defensins, the bovine genome contains only the β-defensin subfamily of HDPs. β-Defensins perform diverse functions that are critical to protection against pathogens but also in regulati...

BACKGROUND Alpha-defensins, which are major constituents of neutrophil azurophilic granules, and beta-defensins, which are expressed in airway epithelial cells, could contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by amplifying cigarette smoke-induced and infection-induced inflammatory reactions leading to lung injury. In Japanese and Chinese populations, two different ...

Defensins are a large family of positively-charged antimicrobial peptides that have been implicated innate immunity. Although known for their ability to directly kill bacteria, the mechanisms by which defensins regulate host-pathogen interactions remain elusive. Herein, we deleted entire Defensin gene cluster (3 million base pairs) in keratinocyte-intrinsic manner and observed enhanced suscepti...