DEFA6 defensin alpha 6 [Homo sapiens (human)] - Gene

Summary

Official Symbol: DEFA6provided by HGNC
Official Full Name: defensin alpha 6provided by HGNC
Primary source: HGNC:HGNC:2765
See related: Ensembl:ENSG00000164822 MIM:600471; AllianceGenome:HGNC:2765
Gene type: protein coding
RefSeq status: REVIEWED
Organism: Homo sapiens
Lineage: Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi; Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo
Also known as: DEF6; HD-6
Summary: Defensins are a family of antimicrobial and cytotoxic peptides thought to be involved in host defense. They are abundant in the granules of neutrophils and also found in the epithelia of mucosal surfaces such as those of the intestine, respiratory tract, urinary tract, and vagina. Members of the defensin family are highly similar in protein sequence and distinguished by a conserved cysteine motif. Several alpha defensin genes appear to be clustered on chromosome 8. The protein encoded by this gene, defensin, alpha 6, is highly expressed in the secretory granules of Paneth cells of the small intestine, and likely plays a role in host defense of human bowel. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2014]
Expression: Restricted expression toward small intestine (RPKM 3311.8) See more
Orthologs: mouse all
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Genomic context

Location:: 8p23.1

Exon count:: 2

Annotation release	Status	Assembly	Chr	Location
RS_2025_08	current	GRCh38.p14 (GCF_000001405.40)	8	NC_000008.11 (6924697..6926076, complement)
RS_2025_08	current	T2T-CHM13v2.0 (GCF_009914755.1)	8	NC_060932.1 (6679697..6681075, complement)
RS_2024_09	previous assembly	GRCh37.p13 (GCF_000001405.25)	8	NC_000008.10 (6782219..6783598, complement)

Chromosome 8 - NC_000008.11 Genomic Context describing neighboring genes

Genomic regions, transcripts, and products

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Genomic Sequence:

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Expression

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See details

Project title: Tissue-specific circular RNA induction during human fetal development
Description: 35 human fetal samples from 6 tissues (3 - 7 replicates per tissue) collected between 10 and 20 weeks gestational time were sequenced using Illumina TruSeq Stranded Total RNA
BioProject: PRJNA270632
Publication: PMID 26076956
Analysis date: Mon Apr 2 22:54:59 2018

Bibliography

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GeneRIFs: Gene References Into Functions

What's a GeneRIF?

Human alpha-Defensin-6 Neutralizes Clostridioides difficile Toxins TcdA and TcdB by Direct Binding.
Title: Human α-Defensin-6 Neutralizes Clostridioides difficile Toxins TcdA and TcdB by Direct Binding.
Upregulated Expression of Intestinal Antimicrobial Peptide HD5 Associated with Renal Function in IgA Nephropathy.
Title: Upregulated Expression of Intestinal Antimicrobial Peptide HD5 Associated with Renal Function in IgA Nephropathy.
DEFA6 is associated with overall survival rate of CRC patients and thus an independent prognostic marker for CRC. These results suggest that DEFA6 plays an essential oncogenic role in CRC and serves a good therapeutic target for the disease.
Title: Defensin alpha 6 (DEFA6) is a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer.
In contrast to oxidized peptides, some reduced defensins exhibit increased vulnerability to proteolytic degradation. In this report, we investigated the susceptibility of Paneth-cell-specific human alpha-defensin 5 (HD-5) and -6 (HD-6) to intestinal proteases using natural human duodenal fluid
Title: Paneth cell α-defensins HD-5 and HD-6 display differential degradation into active antimicrobial fragments.
HD6 assembled into nanonets can prevent key steps in C. albicans pathogenesis
Title: Disentangling Nanonets: Human α-Defensin 6 Targets Candida albicans Virulence.
alpha-Defensin 6 Self-Assembly Prevents Adhesion and Suppresses Virulence Traits of Candida albicans
Title: Human α-Defensin 6 Self-Assembly Prevents Adhesion and Suppresses Virulence Traits of Candida albicans.
Downregulation of HD6 in noninflamed mucosa may contribute to mucosal barrier dysfunction of patients with Crohn's Disease.
Title: Reduced Human α-defensin 6 in Noninflamed Jejunal Tissue of Patients with Crohn's Disease.
Paneth cell alpha-defensin 6 is an antimicrobial peptide.
Title: Paneth cell α-defensin 6 (HD-6) is an antimicrobial peptide.
Native HD-6 readily self-assembles into elongated fibrils observable by transmission electron microscopy, agglutinates both Gram-negative and -positive bacteria, and prevents the Listeria monocytogenes from invading cultured cells.
Title: Molecular basis for self-assembly of a human host-defense peptide that entraps bacterial pathogens.
Authors show that although NOD2 by itself can slightly up-regulate expression of HD5 and HD6, it can strongly down-regulates their expression during differentiation of the Paneth cell lineage mainly by inhibiting activation of the MAPK pathway.
Title: Regulation of human enteric α-defensins by NOD2 in the Paneth cell lineage.

Submit: New GeneRIF Correction See all GeneRIFs (20)

Phenotypes

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Find tests for this gene in the NIH Genetic Testing Registry (GTR)

Review eQTL and phenotype association data in this region using PheGenI

EBI GWAS Catalog

Description
Gene-age interactions in blood pressure regulation: a large-scale investigation with the CHARGE, Global BPgen, and ICBP Consortia. EBI GWAS Catalog EBI GWAS CatalogPubMed

Variation

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See studies and variants in dbVar

See Variation Viewer (GRCh37.p13)

See Variation Viewer (GRCh38)

Protein	Gene	Interaction	Pubs
Envelope surface glycoprotein gp120	env	Alpha-defensins inhibit the binding of HIV-1 gp120 to CD4 through interaction with the D1 domain of CD4	PubMed

Interactions

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Products	Interactant	Other Gene	Complex	Source	Pubs	Description

General gene information

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Markers

NoName (e-PCR)
- UniSTS:485810

STS-M98331 (e-PCR)
- UniSTS:53239

Gene Ontology Provided by GOA

Function	Evidence Code	Pubs
enables pore-forming activity	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
enables protein binding	IPI Inferred from Physical Interaction more info	PubMed
enables protein homodimerization activity	IDA Inferred from Direct Assay more info	PubMed

Process	Evidence Code	Pubs
involved_in antibacterial humoral response	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in antimicrobial humoral immune response mediated by antimicrobial peptide	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in antimicrobial humoral immune response mediated by antimicrobial peptide	IC Inferred by Curator more info	PubMed
involved_in defense response	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
involved_in defense response to Gram-negative bacterium	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in defense response to Gram-positive bacterium	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in defense response to bacterium	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
involved_in defense response to fungus	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
involved_in disruption of plasma membrane integrity in another organism	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in immune system process	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
involved_in innate immune response	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
involved_in innate immune response	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
involved_in killing of cells of another organism	IDA Inferred from Direct Assay more info	PubMed
involved_in killing of cells of another organism	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info

Component	Evidence Code	Pubs
located_in Golgi lumen	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
located_in Golgi lumen	TAS Traceable Author Statement more info
located_in cytoplasmic vesicle	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
located_in extracellular region	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
located_in extracellular region	TAS Traceable Author Statement more info
is_active_in extracellular space	IBA Inferred from Biological aspect of Ancestor more info
located_in extracellular space	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info
located_in transport vesicle	IEA Inferred from Electronic Annotation more info

General protein information

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Preferred Names: defensin-6

Names: defensin, alpha 6, Paneth cell-specific

NCBI Reference Sequences (RefSeq)

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RefSeqs maintained independently of Annotated Genomes

These reference sequences exist independently of genome builds. Explain

These reference sequences are curated independently of the genome annotation cycle, so their versions may not match the RefSeq versions in the current genome build. Identify version mismatches by comparing the version of the RefSeq in this section to the one reported in Genomic regions, transcripts, and products above.