UCLA AIDS Institute researchers find a peptide that encourages HIV infection
...ee structural varieties of peptides, also known as defensins alpha, beta and theta, Lehrer said. Humans have only alpha and beta; monkeys have all three. "Here's a peptide whose normal structure allows it to protect against viruses, yet if you make the same peptide and place its amino acids in a reverse orde...Genetically altered cells may help artificial skin fight infection
...innati Shriners Hospital for Children. Supp says defensins could become an effective alternative method for burn wound care and infection control. Using them in cultured skin substitutes, she adds, could also decrease a patient's risk for infection, improve skin graft survival and reduce dependence on topica...Defense peptide found in primates may block some human HIV transmissions
...e active against HIV-1 than the other two types of defensins and can be developed in laboratories, two features that suggest retrocyclins still could become an effective way to fight the virus. HIV-1 is the most common form of the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. The disease is often transmitte...New class of antibiotics effective against drug-resistant bacteria discovered in fungi
... protect themselves against infection. Humans have defensins in their white blood cells and in their skin, for ... plectasin has implications for the development of defensins as a treatment against many common, and deadly, infections, and may initiate a new era of antibiotic...Researchers discover how compounds prevent viruses from entering cells
...ace of the lungs. The researchers discovered that defensins block the influenza virus entry into cells by prev...ctin prevents viral infection in the same way that defensins do, by binding crosswise to glycoproteins. Future studies of defensins may yield new strategies for ...Defensins neutralize anthrax toxin
... preclinical studies, these scientists showed that defensins neutralize the lethal toxin of anthrax bacilli and thus can prevent its deadly effect. Whilst defensins are well known to kill bacteria, toxin neutralization represents a novel function of defensins. Defe...Mount Sinai researchers identify key to controlling HIV
...rlier studies have primarily looked at the role of defensins in bacterial diseases. A study published the March 1 print edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) examines their role as natural antiviral substances. Theresa Chang and colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyzed how alph...Defensins ward off HIV in two ways
...HIV activity. However, the mechanism by which the defensins control HIV infection has not been known. Appearing online on February 17 in advance of publication in the March 1 print edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Theresa Chang and colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyze how al......HIV activity. However, the mechanism by which the defensins control HIV infection has not been known. Appearing online on February 17 in advance of publication in the March 1 print edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Theresa Chang and colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyze how al...