LL-37, cleaved from human cathelicidin, and human neutrophil peptide-1 (HNP1) from the defensin family are antimicrobial peptides that are occasionally co-released from neutrophils, and synergistically kill bacteria. The study presented in this thesis reports that this couple presents another type of cooperativity against host eukaryotic cells, in which they antagonistically minimize cytotoxicity by protecting membranes from lysis. We characterized the cooperative function between HNP1 and LL-37 at several levels of biological organization using interdisciplinary approaches. Our results describe the potential of the LL-37/HNP1 cooperativity that switches from membrane-destructive to membrane-protective functions, depending on whether the target is an enemy or a host.