Antimicrobial Effect of Cannabidiol on Intracellular .

, the etiologic agent of tuberculosis (TB), has killed nearly one billion people during the last two centuries. Nowadays, TB remains a major global health problem ranked among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. One of the main challenges in developing new strategies to fight TB is focused on reducing the duration and complexity of drug regimens.

On the Offensive: the Role of Outer Membrane Vesicles in the Successful Dissemination of New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1).

The emergence and worldwide dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacteria are a major public health threat. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) represent the largest family of carbapenemases. Regrettably, these resistance determinants are spreading worldwide.

Review of antiviral peptides for use against zoonotic and selected non-zoonotic viruses.

Viruses remain one of the leading causes of animal and human disease. Some animal viral infections spread sporadically to human populations, posing a serious health risk. Particularly the emerging viral zoonotic diseases such as the novel, zoonotic coronavirus represent an actual challenge for the scientific and medical community.

Unravelling the mechanism of action of "de novo" designed peptide P1 with model membranes and gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

In the last years, the decreasing effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial-drugs has caused serious problems due to the rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This situation has brought attention to other antimicrobial agents like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), for being considered an alternative to conventional drugs. These compounds target bacterial membranes for their activity, which gives them a broad spectrum of action and less probable resistance development.

Interactions of "de novo" designed peptides with bacterial membranes: Implications in the antimicrobial activity.

Antimicrobial peptides are small molecules that display antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens. In a previous work, by using model membranes we studied P6, a peptide that shows no antimicrobial activity, and P6.2, which exhibits antibacterial activity.

New insights into novel Escherichia coli colistin-resistant strains isolated from Argentina.

Colistin is a polymyxin antibiotic (polymyxin E) that has in recent years re-emerged as an option for treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Recently, the re-introduction of colistin resulted in the appearance of colistin-resistant bacteria, which is usually caused by LPS modifications. The fact that this modification is mediated by a plasmid carrying the mcr-1 gene, implies a horizontal transfer of colistin resistance.

Antibacterial, anti-biofilm and in vivo activities of the antimicrobial peptides P5 and P6.2.

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short linear amino acid sequences, which display antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial species. They are promising novel antimicrobials since they have shown bactericidal effects against multiresistant bacteria. Their amphiphilic structure with hydrophobic and cationic regions drives their interaction with anionic bacterial cytoplasmic membranes, which leads to their disruption.

Fast Biofilm Penetration and Anti-PAO1 Activity of Nebulized Azithromycin in Nanoarchaeosomes.

Azithromycin (AZ) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with anti-inflammatory and antiquorum sensing activity against biofilm forming bacteria such as . AZ administered by oral or parenteral routes, however, neither efficiently accesses nor remains in therapeutic doses inside pulmonary biofilm depths. Instead, inhaled nanocarriers loaded with AZ may revert the problem of low accessibility and permanence of AZ into biofilms, enhancing its antimicrobial activity.

Synergistic and antibiofilm activity of the antimicrobial peptide P5 against carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

In the search for new antimicrobial molecules, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer a viable alternative to conventional antibiotics, as they physically disrupt the bacterial membranes, leading to membrane disruption and eventually cell death. In particular, the group of linear α-helical cationic peptides has attracted increasing research and clinical interest. The AMP P5 has been previously designed as a cationic linear α-helical sequence, being its antimicrobial and hemolytic properties also evaluated.

Antimicrobial Peptides: Interaction With Model and Biological Membranes and Synergism With Chemical Antibiotics.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising novel antibiotics since they have shown antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial species, including multiresistant bacteria; however, toxicity is the major barrier to convert antimicrobial peptides into active drugs. A profound and proper understanding of the complex interactions between these peptides and biological membranes using biophysical tools and model membranes seems to be a key factor in the race to develop a suitable antimicrobial peptide therapy for clinical use. In the search for such therapy, different combined approaches with conventional antibiotics have been evaluated in recent years and demonstrated to improve the therapeutic potential of AMPs.

Cementoin-SLPI fusion protein binds to human monocytes and epithelial cells and shows higher biological activity than SLPI.

Secretory Leukocyte Proteinase Inhibitor (SLPI) is an antiinflammatory peptide that blocks the activity of serine proteases, primarily the neutrophil elastase. In an attempt to direct the activity of SLPI on inflamed sites, a chimera consisting of the transglutaminase II substrate domain of trappin 2 (cementoin), and the mature SLPI protein was constructed. Cell attachment and biological activity were compared between SLPI and this chimera.

Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides Inactivate Shiga Toxin-Encoding Bacteriophages.

Shiga toxin (Stx) is the principal virulence factor during Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) infections. We have previously reported the inactivation of bacteriophage encoding Stx after treatment with chitosan, a linear polysaccharide polymer with cationic properties. Cationic antimicrobial peptides (cAMPs) are short linear aminoacidic sequences, with a positive net charge, which display bactericidal or bacteriostatic activity against a wide range of bacterial species.

-759C>T Polymorphism of the HTR2C Gene is Associated with Second Generation Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain in Female Patients with Schizophrenia.

The gene is an important candidate in pharmacogenetic studies of antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG). However, inconsistent results have been obtained. The present study investigated the association between -759C>T, functional polymorphism of the receptor, and AIWG.

Role of amphipathicity and hydrophobicity in the balance between hemolysis and peptide-membrane interactions of three related antimicrobial peptides.

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) represent important self defense molecules in many organisms, including humans. These peptides have a broad spectrum of activities, killing or neutralizing many Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The emergence of multidrug resistant microbes has stimulated research on the development of alternative antibiotics.

Antimicrobial activity of de novo designed cationic peptides against multi-resistant clinical isolates.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the main problems concerning public health or clinical practice. Antimicrobial peptides appear as good candidates for the development of new therapeutic drugs. In this study we de novo designed a group of cationic antimicrobial peptides, analyzed its physicochemical properties, including its structure by circular dichroism and studied its antimicrobial properties against a panel of clinical isolates expressing different mechanisms of resistance.

[Pharmacogenetics in psychiatry: how far are we from clinical application?].

Pharmacogenetics studies how genetic variation influences the response of patients to drugs. This discipline has a greater impact in those medical specialties that treat complex diseases in which the therapeutic response is insufficient and/or have high costs such as psychiatry. This is a narrative review in which we analyze the main results of pharmacogenetic studies performed with the most relevant groups of psychoactive drugs and discusses missing for incorporating these advances into our daily practice.

Anti-tumor effect of SLPI on mammary but not colon tumor growth.

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) is a serine protease inhibitor that was related to cancer development and metastasis dissemination on several types of tumors. However, it is not known the effect of SLPI on mammary and colon tumors. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of SLPI on mammary and colon tumor growth.

Serine leucocyte proteinase inhibitor-treated monocyte inhibits human CD4(+) lymphocyte proliferation.

Serine leucocyte proteinase inhibitor (SLPI) is the main serine proteinase inhibitor produced by epithelial cells and has been shown to be a pleiotropic molecule with anti-inflammatory and microbicidal activities. However, the role of SLPI on the adaptive immune response is not well established. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of SLPI on lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production.

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor: a secreted pattern recognition receptor for mycobacteria.

Rationale: Human secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) displays bactericidal activity against pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus. Furthermore, it has been reported that murine SLPI shows potent antimycobacterial activity.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether human recombinant SLPI not only kills mycobacteria but also acts as a pattern recognition receptor for the host immune system.

Neutrophil elastase converts human immature dendritic cells into transforming growth factor-beta1-secreting cells and reduces allostimulatory ability.

During microbial infection, neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes; PMNs) activate dendritic cells (DCs). However, early reports illustrated that neutrophil-derived mediators may suppress responses to mitogens. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism used by PMNs to modulate the immunostimulatory ability of DCs.

Platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) recycles and induces cell growth inhibition on human tumor cell lines.

CD31 (PECAM-1) is a 130-kDa member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily expressed on endothelial cells, platelets, and most leukocytes. This report demonstrates by Western Blot and immunofluorescence that some human melanoma and adenocarcinoma cell lines express CD31 on the cell surface. The surface expression of CD31 was regulated by cell-cell contact, being higher on sparse and spontaneously detached cells.