Antimicrobial potentials and structural disorder of human and animal defensins

Defensins belong to a diverse group of antimicrobial peptides with pronounced biocidal activity [1–8]. These are short, cationic, cysteine-rich polypeptides, which are well-known for their high and broad antimicrobial potentials [7,8]. Being originally isolated from human and rabbit neutrophils (or neutrophil granulocytes, which are the most abundant type of white blood cells in most mammals, accounting for 40% to 75% of white blood cells) [9], defensins have also been found in various other vertebrates [10], invertebrates [11], insects [12], and plants [13,14].

Source: Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews - November 5, 2015 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Ehab H. Mattar, Hussein A. Almehdar, Haitham A. Yacoub, Vladimir N. Uversky, Elrashdy M. Redwan Source Type: research