title: Insect defensins: inducible antibacterial peptides.
abstract: In response to bacterial challenge or trauma, insects produce a battery of bactericidal or bacteriostatic molecules with a broad spectrum of activity against Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria; most are small-sized cationic peptides. This review focuses on insect defensins, a large group of inducible antibacterial peptides that are present both in ancient and recent insect orders. This immune response of insects shares many of the characteristics of the mammalian acute phase response.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Générale Université Louis Pasteur, CNRS Research Unit 1490, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hetru
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D001770:Blood Bactericidal Activity / Q000276:immunology*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D023082:Defensins; D007313:Insecta / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D023082:Defensins; D010455:Peptides