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Defensins and LL ‐37: a review of function in the gingival epithelium
Author(s) -
Greer Ara,
Zenobia Camille,
Darveau Richard P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
periodontology 2000
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.725
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1600-0757
pISSN - 0906-6713
DOI - 10.1111/prd.12028
Subject(s) - beta defensin , antimicrobial peptides , epithelium , innate immune system , context (archaeology) , antimicrobial , chemotaxis , immune system , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , function (biology) , medicine , homeostasis , biology , pathology , receptor , paleontology
Antimicrobial peptides represent an important aspect of the innate defense system that contributes to the control of bacterial colonization and infection. As studies have progressed it has become clear that antimicrobial peptides manifest other functions in addition to their antimicrobial effects. These functions include chemotaxis of numerous types of host cells involved in both the innate and adaptive immune responses. In this review, the antimicrobial activity, the regulation and the contribution to host homeostasis of alpha‐defensins and LL ‐37, as well as of beta‐defensins, are discussed in the context of their specific tissue locations in the junctional epithelium and oral epithelium, respectively.