Effect of Esc(1–21), Esc(1–21)-1c and LL37 on the number of lung inflammatory cells in mice. The number of macrophages, neutrophils and total inflammatory cells in the BAL of mice was counted at 24 hours after peptide administration at 7 μg/mouse (0.35 mg/kg) (panel a) or 2 μg/mouse (0.1 mg/kg) (panel b). Results are mean ± SEM from three independent experiments; n = 4–6 mice for each group in each experiment. Following one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), posthoc comparisons were made using the Dunnett’s multiple comparison test when the P-value was significant (p < 0.05). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, for peptide-treated mice versus PBS-receiving animals.