Membrane rigidification may result in general poisoning of the cell by interfering with these 3-deazaneplanocin A mouse processes. Antimicrobial peptides are fundamental components of immunity. A role for AMPs in decreasing or eliminating the parasite load in the tsetse fly vector has been established. Despite the identification of mammalian AMPs that show trypanocidal activity, it is not known

if these peptides participate in the immune response of the mammalian host. Antimicrobial peptides with variable activity against BSF and PC African trypanosomes may serve as valuable tools for probing the physiology of the different developmental forms. Already work with trypanocidal peptides has highlighted the unusual membrane composition selleck screening library of BSF African trypanosomes and their susceptibility to toxic compounds delivered through robust endocytosis and lysosomal localization. The abundance and diversity of AMPs could offer a vast resource for the development of novel trypanocidal agents. John M. Harrington is supported by a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and the National Institute of Health Grant AI039033 to Stephen Hajduk. I thank Joseph Russell and Stephen Hajduk

for critically reading the manuscript. “
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction and selective neuronal death in the brain. The aetiology of AD is not clear but environmental factors and heritable predisposition may play a role in the disease emergence. ioxilan It has also been suggested that neural–immune interaction has a role in disease appearance. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in the host defence, which is related to their ability to secrete a variety of cytokines and chemokines, as well as killing infected host cells. Moreover, there is

some evidence that imply the involvement of NK cells in immunopathogenesis of AD. In this review, we have attempted to clarify the role of NK cells in the immunopathogenesis of AD. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and affects 2–10% of North Americans and Europeans over the age of 65 years [1]. It has been shown that the prevalence of dementia in people over the age of 65 years is doubling for every 5.1-year age interval [1]. AD is a primary neurodegenerative disorder that leads to progressive dementia and is characterized by cognitive and memory impairment [1]. Depression, apathy, psychosis, anxiety, agitation and sleep disturbances are common symptoms of AD. In addition to age and lifestyle factors, pharmacological interventions can delay AD [2]. The inflammatory products found in the brain of Alzheimer patients have been considered as evidence for inflammatory reactions in this disease [3].