Structural highlights
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Defensins are small effector molecules of the innate immune system that are present in almost all organisms including plants and animals. These peptides possess antimicrobial activity against a broad range of microbes including bacteria, fungi and viruses and act as endogenous antibiotics. alpha-Defensins are a subfamily of the defensin family and their expression is limited to specific tissues. Equine DEFA1 is an enteric alpha-defensin exclusively secreted by Paneth cells and shows an activity against a broad spectrum of microbes, including typical pathogens of the horse such as Rhodococcus equi, various streptococci strains, Salmonella choleraesuis, and Pasteurella multocida. Here, we report the three-dimensional structure of DEFA1 solved by NMR-spectroscopy and demonstrate its specific function of aggregating various phospholipids.
Solution structure and functional studies of the highly potent equine antimicrobial peptide DEFA1.,Michalek M, Jung S, Shomali MR, Cauchard S, Sonnichsen FD, Grotzinger J Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Apr 17;459(4):668-72. doi:, 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.02.168. Epub 2015 Mar 11. PMID:25769951[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Michalek M, Jung S, Shomali MR, Cauchard S, Sonnichsen FD, Grotzinger J. Solution structure and functional studies of the highly potent equine antimicrobial peptide DEFA1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Apr 17;459(4):668-72. doi:, 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.02.168. Epub 2015 Mar 11. PMID:25769951 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.02.168
