title: Nonmammalian vertebrate antibiotic peptides.
abstract: With the exception of cyclostomes, all vertebrates share the common immune strategy of adaptive, highly specific immunity, based on the products of recombination-activating genes and recombined noninherited receptors for antigens. In addition, they have retained ancient vectors of innate immunity, such as antimicrobial peptides, which are widespread in all eukaryotic organisms and show a high degree of structural homology across most animal taxa. Recently, these substances have become the objects of intensive study for their outstanding bioactive properties with the aim to be applied as very efficient antibiotics, antimicrobials, and even cancerostatics in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Gnotobiology, Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20 Prague, Czechia. sima@biomed.cas.cz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Síma
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Trebichavský
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sigler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000276:immunology*; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010455:Peptides