Defensin genes encode small cationic antimicrobial peptides that form an important part of the innate immune system. They are divided into three families, alpha (α), beta (β), and theta (), according to arrangement of the disulfide bonding pattern between cysteine residues. Considering the functional importance of defensins, investigators have studied the evolution and the genomic organization ...

We assessed the susceptibility of several pathogenic and non-pathogenic Listeria species to antimicrobial peptides of animal and plant origin. Human defensins and thionins were highly inhibitory, whereas protamine, snakin and magainin showed an intermediate effect. A temperature dependence in the activity of potato defensin was observed for Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii. PrfA* L....

BACKGROUND Treatment of cutaneous wounds with poly-N-acetyl-glucosamine nanofibers (sNAG) results in increased kinetics of wound closure in diabetic animal models, which is due in part to increased expression of several cytokines, growth factors, and innate immune activation. Defensins are also important for wound healing and anti-microbial activities. Therefore, we tested whether sNAG nanofibe...

BACKGROUND We recently showed that beta-defensins have antimicrobial activity against nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and that interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) up-regulates the transcription of beta-defensin 2 (DEFB4 according to new nomenclature of the Human Genome Organization) in human middle ear epithelial cells via a Src-dependent Raf-MEK1/2-ERK signaling pathway. Based on these ...

Vertebrate β-defensins comprise an important family of antimicrobial peptides that protect organisms from a diverse spectrum of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoan parasites. Previous studies have shown a marked variation in the number of β-defensins among species, but the underlying reason is unclear. To address this question, we performed comprehensive computational searches to study the ...

Inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. On the basis of previous reports that human atherosclerotic lesions contain alpha-defensins, a class of cationic proteins released by activated neutrophils, the study was designed to ask whether defensins modulate the binding and catabolism of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by human vascular cells. The results of the study demon...

The first cyclic peptide discovered in animals is an antimicrobial octadecapeptide that is expressed in leukocytes of rhesus monkeys. The peptide, termed rhesus θ-defensin 1 (RTD-1) is the prototype of a new family of antimicrobial peptides, which like the previously characterized αand β-defensin families, possesses broad spectrum microbicidal activities against bacteria, fungi, and protects mo...

Inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. On the basis of previous reports that human atherosclerotic lesions contain a-defensins, a class of cationic proteins released by activated neutrophils, the study was designed to ask whether defensins modulate the binding and catabolism of lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) by human vascular cells. The results of the study demonstrat...

A growing body of evidence suggests that endogenous antibiotics contribute to the innate defense of mammalian mucosal surfaces. In the cow, beta-defensins constitute a large family of antibiotic peptides whose members have been previously isolated from the respiratory and oral mucosa, as well as circulating phagocytic cells. A novel bovine genomic clone with beta-defensin-related sequence [corr...

Thionins are antimicrobial proteins that are thought to be involved in plant defense. Concordant with this view, we have recently shown that the Arabidopsis thionin Thi2.1 gene is inducible by phytopathogenic fungi. Here, we demonstrate that constitutive overexpression of this thionin enhances the resistance of the susceptible ecotype Columbia (Col-2) against attack by Fusarium oxysporum f sp m...