Background Host defense peptides (HDPs) are naturally occurring molecules found in most eukaryotic species, in which they play a significant role in the first line of defense against pathogens. Several HDPs have shown to possess anticancer activity. Structure-anti-cancer activity relationship studies on the HDP bovine lactoferricin has resulted in the design of a short oncolytic 9-mer peptide, ...

Lactoferrin (LF) is a member of the transferring family with a molecular weight of 78-kDa and is present in numerous external secretions including human milk, saliva, tears, airway mucus, and the secondary granules of neutrophils [1]. It is an iron-binding glycoprotein found in abundance in premature milk with its concentration decreasing as the term age [2]. This protein has been establish to ...

The underlying causes of denture stomatitis may be related to the long-term use of adhesives, which may predispose individuals to oral candidiasis. In this study, we hypothesize that antimicrobial peptides and antifungal antibiotics have diminished anti-Candida activities in denture adhesive. To show this, nine antimicrobial peptides and five antifungal antibiotics with and without 1.0% denture...

Lactoferricin (LFcin) hydrolyzed from lactoferrin (LF), a major 80 kDa iron-binding protein in milk and other exocrine secretions, was characterized as a potent activator of protein kinase CK2 (CK2) in vitro. Human LFcin (hLFcin) at 0.5 microg stimulated approx. 5-fold CK2 activity [phosphorylation of 60S acidic ribosomal proteins (P0, P1, P2) and Hsp90 (p98)] in a manner similar to other funct...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is naturally resistant to many antibiotics, and infections caused by this organism are a serious threat, especially to hospitalized patients. The intrinsic low permeability of P. aeruginosa to antibiotics results from the coordinated action of several mechanisms, such as the presence of restrictive porins and the expression of multidrug efflux pump systems. Our goal was t...