What are defensins?
1 Answer
Defensins are anti microbial peptides that act mainly by disrupting the structure of bacterial cell membranes and are found in many compartments of the body.
Explanation:
They are small cysteine rich cationic proteins found in both vertebrates and invertebrates. They have also been reported in plants.
Defensins have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. They are active against bacteria, fungi and many enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. Cells of the immune system contain these peptides to assist in killing phagocytosed bacteria. Defensins kill cells by forming voltage regulated multimeric channels in the susceptible cell's membrane. Most Defensins function by binding to the microbial cell membrane and once embedded they form pore like membrane defects, that allow effllux of essential ions and membranes.
