Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are distributed across all kingdoms of life and are an
indispensable component of host defenses. They consist of predominantly short cationic …

The immune system enables organisms to combat infections and to eliminate endogenous
challenges. Immune responses can be evoked through diverse inducible pathways …

Intracellular lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli,
Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, and Burkholderia thailandensis activates mouse …

Antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs) are a diverse class of naturally occurring
molecules that are produced as a first line of defense by all multicellular organisms. These …

Urinary tract infections (UTIs), which include any infection of the urethra, bladder or kidneys,
account for an estimated 400 million infections and billions of dollars in health-care …

The urinary tract is constantly exposed to microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal
tract, but generally the urinary tract resists infection by gut microorganisms. This resistance …

All mucosal surfaces must deal with the challenge of exposure to the outside world. The
urothelium is a highly specialized layer of stratified epithelial cells lining the inner surface of …

The production of natural antibiotic peptides has emerged as an important mechanism of
innate immunity in plants and animals. Defensins are diverse members of a large family of …

Recent molecular studies concluded that the endometrium has a resident microbiota
dominated by Lactobacillus spp. and is therefore similar to that of the vagina. These findings …

Cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides are abundant in animal and plant tissues involved in
host defense. In insects, most are synthesized in the fat body, an organ analogous to the …