RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Roles of antimicrobial peptides such as defensins in innate and adaptive immunity
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP ii17
OP ii21
DO 10.1136/ard.62.suppl_2.ii17
VO 62
IS suppl 2
A1 J J Oppenheim
A1 A Biragyn
A1 L W Kwak
A1 D Yang
YR 2003
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/62/suppl_2/ii17.abstract
AB A number of antimicrobial peptides such as defensins have multiple functions in host defence. Defensins are produced not only by phagocytic cells and lymphocytes, but also by the epithelial cell lining of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, the tracheobronchial tree, and keratinocytes. Some are produced constitutively, whereas others are induced by proinflammatory cytokines and exogenous microbial products. Defensins produced by cells in the course of innate host defence serve as signals which initiate, mobilise, and amplify adaptive immune host defences. Administration of defensins with antigens to mice enhances both cellular (Th1-dependent) and humoral (Th2-dependent) cytokine production and immune responses. Linkage of defensins to weak tumour antigens potentiates their immunoadjuvant effects. Defensins use multiple cellular receptors, which endows them with the capacity to marshall adaptive host defences against microbial invaders.