Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) seem to be promising alternatives to common antibiotics, which are facing increasing bacterial resistance. Among them are the cysteine-stabilized αβ defensins. These peptides are small, with a length ranging from 34 to 54 amino acid residues, cysteine-rich and extremely stable, normally composed of an α-helix and three β-strands stabilized by three or four disulfid...

Little is known about the effects of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) haplotypes on immunity to primate lentiviruses involving both acquired and innate immune responses. We present statistical evidence of the influence of MHC polymorphism on antiviral immunity of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM) following simian/human immunodeficiency virus SHIVSF162P4cy infection, involving the produc...

Gastrointestinal mucosa is an early target of HIV and a site of viral replication and severe CD4(+) T cell depletion. However, effects of HIV infection on gut mucosal innate immune defense have not been fully investigated. Intestinal Paneth cell-derived α-defensins constitute an integral part of the gut mucosal innate defense against microbial pathogens. Using the SIV-infected rhesus macaque mo...

The first cyclic peptide discovered in animals is an antimicrobial octadecapeptide that is expressed in leukocytes of rhesus monkeys. The peptide, termed rhesus θ-defensin 1 (RTD-1) is the prototype of a new family of antimicrobial peptides, which like the previously characterized αand β-defensin families, possesses broad spectrum microbicidal activities against bacteria, fungi, and protects mo...

Human defensins are innate immune defense peptides with a remarkably broad repertoire of anti-pathogen activities. In addition to modulating immune response, inflammation, and angiogenesis, disintegrating bacterial membranes, and inactivating bacterial toxins, defensins are known to intercept various viruses at different stages of their life cycles, while remaining relatively benign towards hum...

Background: The goal of this study is the identification potential marker molecules for characterizing different basal cell carcinoma entities, to help improve clinical decisions surgical resection therapy. Methods: Three sclerodermiform, solid and superficial carcinomas, were subjected immunohistochemical microscopy histomorphometric analyses human α- (DEFA1/3; DEFA4) β-defensins (hBD1/2/3) sp...

Background: The infectious nature of severe early-childhood caries (S-ECC) points to the possible participation of immunologic host responses including neutrophils and their antimicrobial products. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the neutrophil apoptosis, α-defensins (HNP1-3) and calprotectin levels in the saliva of preschool children and the association with S-ECC. Methods: ...

Haemophilus ducreyi resists killing by antimicrobial peptides encountered during human infection, including cathelicidin LL-37, α-defensins, and β-defensins. In this study, we examined the role of the proton motive force-dependent multiple transferable resistance (MTR) transporter in antimicrobial peptide resistance in H. ducreyi. We found a proton motive force-dependent effect on H. ducreyi's ...