title: Defensins: "Simple" antimicrobial peptides or broad-spectrum molecules?
abstract: Small cationic peptides highly conserved in vertebrates, both α- and β-defensins were primarily identified as anti-microbial compounds involved in innate immunity. While human α-defensins are mostly expressed by neutrophils, β-defensins are secreted by epithelial cells of the skin and mucosae. Besides their anti-microbial activity, accumulating data emerged in the past decade indicating that defensins have extended functions in human physio(patho)logy. Indeed, defensins appeared as modulators of the adaptive immune system and angiogenesis, key mediators of wound healing and determinant players in male fertility. Furthermore, the impact of defensin expression in cancer and the potential use of these small peptides as biomarkers or even therapeutic tools should not be ignored. In the present review, we describe recent research works regarding the diversified functions of defensins, by mainly focusing on human models.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, GIGA-Cancer, University of Liege, CHU-Sart Tilman, 4000 Liege, Belgium; Laboratory of Tumor and Development Biology, GIGA-Cancer, University of Liege, CHU-Sart Tilman, 4000 Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Meggy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suarez-Carmona
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, GIGA-Cancer, University of Liege, CHU-Sart Tilman, 4000 Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, GIGA-Cancer, University of Liege, CHU-Sart Tilman, 4000 Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delvenne
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, GIGA-Cancer, University of Liege, CHU-Sart Tilman, 4000 Liege, Belgium. Electronic address: M.Herfs@ulg.ac.be.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herfs
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D023082:Defensins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D023082:Defensins
keywords: Biomarker; Carcinogenesis; Defensin; Immune system