{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,28]],"date-time":"2026-01-28T17:10:48Z","timestamp":1769620248167,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":113,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769385600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006054","name":"Universidad de Guanajuato","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["099"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["099"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006054","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003141","name":"Secretar\u00eda de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnolog\u00eda e Innovaci\u00f3n","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2000065"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2000065"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003141","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Trichomoniasis is the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide and is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis. The development of resistance against the standard treatment, metronidazole, highlights the need for alternative therapeutic approaches. The role of innate immune cells is crucial for understanding trichomoniasis; however, the contribution of monocytes remains poorly characterized. We previously reported that the antimicrobial peptides LL-37 and its derivative KR-20 are trichomonacidal. In other systems, LL-37 displays immunomodulatory effects. Nevertheless, whether these peptides modulate monocyte responses in the presence of T. vaginalis remains unknown, which was the aim of this study. U937 monocytes were co-incubated with LL-37 or KR-20 (3 h), with or without parasite. Monocyte metabolic activity, nitric oxide production, and relative expression of innate immune genes were assessed. LL-37 decreased monocyte metabolic activity and upregulated TNF-\u03b1 expression (10 and 5 \u03bcM, respectively) in parasite-challenged monocytes. Meanwhile, KR-20 (2.5\u201310 \u03bcM) preserved metabolic activity, bound microbial components (LPS), reduced parasite-induced nitric oxide production, and downregulated the expression of IL-8, TNF-\u03b1, IL-1\u03b2, and COX-2 in infected monocytes. This work provides initial evidence that KR-20 modulates innate immune response in monocytes during T. vaginalis infection, suggesting its potential\u2014yet to be fully validated\u2014as an immunomodulatory candidate for trichomoniasis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31030413","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]],"date-time":"2026-01-26T11:14:07Z","timestamp":1769426047000},"page":"413","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Immunomodulatory Effects of the Antimicrobial Peptide KR-20: Implications for Trichomoniasis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4164-2531","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda G.","family":"Ram\u00edrez-Ledesma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Neurobiolog\u00eda Celular y Molecular, Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, Boulevard Juriquilla #3001, Quer\u00e9taro PC 76230, Mexico"},{"name":"Departamento de Biolog\u00eda, DCNE, Universidad de Guanajuato, Colonia Noria Alta, Guanajuato City PC 36050, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eva E.","family":"\u00c1vila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Biolog\u00eda, DCNE, Universidad de Guanajuato, Colonia Noria Alta, Guanajuato City PC 36050, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3851-829X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nayeli","family":"Alva-Murillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Biolog\u00eda, DCNE, Universidad de Guanajuato, Colonia Noria Alta, Guanajuato City PC 36050, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kissinger, P. 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