Leukocytes use an array of antimicrobial peptides and proteins to help them destroy
invading microorganisms. These endogenous antibiotic molecules are remarkable for their …

Survival in environments teeming with microbes depends on efficient mechanisms of host
defense. Antimicrobial peptides and polypeptides in granules of leukocytes (eg, neutrophils) …

It has been estimated that there are more microorganisms within and upon the human body
than there are human cells. By necessity, every accessible niche must be defended by …

Phagocytic leukocytes are a central cellular element of innate-immune defense in mammals.
Over the past few decades, substantial progress has been made in defining the means by …

The bactericidal machinery of mammalian neutrophils is built up of many components with
different chemical properties, involving proteins, peptides and oxygen-dependent radicals …

The production of peptides and small proteins with microbicidal activity collectively called
antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is commonly considered to be a primitive mechanism of …

Antimicrobial peptides are effector molecules of innate immunity that provide a first line of
defense against pathogens. In mammals, they are stored in granules of leukocytes and are …

It is reported that NK-lysin, a 78 residue peptide with antibacterial activity isolated from
porcine intestinal tissue, structurally and functionally resembles amoebapore, a 77 residue …

Amoebapores, the pore-forming polypeptides of the protozoan parasite Entamoeba
histolytica, and NK-lysin, an effector molecule of porcine NK (natural killer) and cytotoxic T …

Effective host defense against microbial invasion requires an innate immune system whose
response is both rapid and independent of prior exposure (25). The neutrophil is a central …