Abstract
Defensins are a family of antimicrobial cationic peptides that act as a rapid response force against microbial invasion in a wide range of organisms, including plants, insects, animals and humans. In humans, defensins are produced predominantly by leukocytes and epithelial cells and are an important factor of innate immunity. In addition to their major role as natural antibiotics, defensins are increasingly recognized as signaling molecules in adaptive immunity and aberrant defensin expression has been associated with infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss the role of human defensins in relation to infectious disease and the possibility of novel defensin-based therapeutic approaches.
Keywords: Defensins, infectious disease, therapeutics
Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets
Title: Human Defensins: Turning Defense into Offense?
Volume: 7 Issue: 1
Author(s): Erik de Leeuw and Wuyuan Lu
Affiliation:
Keywords: Defensins, infectious disease, therapeutics
Abstract: Defensins are a family of antimicrobial cationic peptides that act as a rapid response force against microbial invasion in a wide range of organisms, including plants, insects, animals and humans. In humans, defensins are produced predominantly by leukocytes and epithelial cells and are an important factor of innate immunity. In addition to their major role as natural antibiotics, defensins are increasingly recognized as signaling molecules in adaptive immunity and aberrant defensin expression has been associated with infectious diseases. In this review, we discuss the role of human defensins in relation to infectious disease and the possibility of novel defensin-based therapeutic approaches.
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Cite this article as:
de Leeuw Erik and Lu Wuyuan, Human Defensins: Turning Defense into Offense?, Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets 2007; 7 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152607780090702
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152607780090702 |
Print ISSN 1871-5265 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 2212-3989 |
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