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Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
Cationic host defence peptides are an evolutionarily conserved component of the immune system and have been found across a wide variety of species. In lower organisms they comprise a major component of the defensive repertoire, whereas in higher species they are a part of the complex immune system dedicated to protecting against infection. Human neutrophils contain large amounts of the cationic alpha-defensin peptides, HNP-1-3, as well as HNP-4, which is present in lower amounts, while two Paneth cell alpha-defensins, HD-5 and HD-6, are also found in the gut. It is now becoming clear that alpha-defensins have multiple functions in the immune system; however, it is also apparent that although there is redundancy in their function, they also each have unique roles within the ever-increasing complexity of the immune system.
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