Defensin Participation in Innate and Adaptive Immunity

Defensins are endogenous, small, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides that are produced by leukocytes and epithelial cells. Substantial evidence accumulated in recent years indicates that mammalian defensins are multifunctional and, by interacting with host cell receptor(s), participate in both the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurrent pharmaceutical design Vol. 13; no. 30; pp. 3131 - 3139
Main Authors Yang, De, Liu, Zhen-hua, Tewary, Poonam, Chen, Qian, de la Rosa, Gonzalo, Oppenheim, Joost J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United Arab Emirates Bentham Science Publishers Ltd 01.10.2007
Subjects
Animals
Defensins - biosynthesis
Defensins - genetics
Defensins - immunology
Humans
Immunity, Active
Immunity, Innate
Infection - immunology
Infection - microbiology
Neoplasms - immunology
Structure-Activity Relationship
Virus Diseases - immunology
Virus Diseases - virology
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Summary:Defensins are endogenous, small, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides that are produced by leukocytes and epithelial cells. Substantial evidence accumulated in recent years indicates that mammalian defensins are multifunctional and, by interacting with host cell receptor(s), participate in both the innate and adaptive antimicrobial immunity of the host. A better understanding of the function of defensins in immunity has implications for the development of potential clinical therapeutics for the treatment of infection or cancer. Here we will briefly outline the classification, genes, expression, and structure of mammalian defensins and focus on their roles in innate and adaptive immune response of the host.
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ISSN:1381-6128
1873-4286
DOI:10.2174/138161207782110453