Date
2020Journal
Frontiers in ImmunologyPublisher
Frontiers Media S.A.Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Defensins are a major family of host defense peptides expressed predominantly in neutrophils and epithelial cells. Their broad antimicrobial activities and multifaceted immunomodulatory functions have been extensively studied, cementing their role in innate immunity as a core host-protective component against bacterial, viral and fungal infections. More recent studies, however, paint defensins in a bad light such that they are "alleged" to promote viral and bacterial infections in certain biological settings. This mini review summarizes the latest findings on the potential pathogenic properties of defensins against the backdrop of their protective roles in antiviral and antibacterial immunity. Further, a succinct description of both tumor-proliferative and -suppressive activities of defensins is also given to highlight their functional and mechanistic complexity in antitumor immunity. We posit that given an enabling environment defensins, widely heralded as the "Swiss army knife," can function as a "double-edged sword" in host immunity. Copyright 2020 Xu and Lu.Sponsors
National Natural Science Foundation of China, NSFC 31770146Keyword
antimicrobial peptidedefensin
host defense peptide
host-pathogen interaction
innate immunity
Shigella
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85085130444&doi=10.3389%2ffimmu.2020.00764&partnerID=40&md5=50d18677b8373e530cadbb5353c8b6c2; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/12905ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3389/fimmu.2020.00764