Publications by authors named "Alexia Carboni"
7An efficient immune system must provide protection against a broad range of pathogens without causing excessive collateral tissue damage. While immune effectors have been well characterized, we know less about the resilience mechanisms protecting the host from its own immune response. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small, cationic peptides that contribute to innate defenses by targeting negatively charged membranes of microbes.
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- Cecropins are small, antimicrobial peptides found in insects and are activated in response to infections, indicating they play a crucial role in immune defense.
- In a study, researchers created a deletion strain (ΔCecA-C) that removes the cecropin genes and tested its effect on immune responses in flies, revealing that these flies were still viable and resistant to many pathogens.
- However, when combined with other mutations in antimicrobial peptides, ΔCecA-C flies showed a clear role for Cecropins, particularly against Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, highlighting their significance in insect immunity.
Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) treatment increases heart function and decreases heart dilation after myocardial infarction (MI). Here, we investigated whether part of the cardioprotective effect of BNP in infarcted hearts related to improved neovascularisation. Infarcted mice were treated with saline or BNP for 10 days.
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