defensins

Introduction

defensins are small antimicrobial cysteine-rich cationic proteins
they play an important role in innate immunity against viruses, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and parasites in the digestive system and the reproductive system
they also are involved in various immune processes, such as chemotaxis, wound-healing, and inducing or suppressing inflammatory responses
vertebrates have three defensin subfamilies (α, β and θ), birds only have β-defensins.
defensins and lysozyme (LYZ) amongst many other roles are the main first line defenses of the conjunctiva and both play central roles in neonate immunity via human breast milk
alpha defensin peptides are increased in chronic inflammatory conditions and in some cancers and imbalance of defensins may have a role in acne
defensins also play a role in skin healing and are also found in psoriatic skin
defensins are structurally diverse, with different types exhibiting variations in disulfide bond patterns. In contrast, cathelicidins, another family of antimicrobial peptides, have a conserved cathelin domain, with the antimicrobial activity residing in a separate variable domain.
defensins are more commonly associated with epithelial cells, while cathelicidins are found in a wider range of cell types.