Hemocidins in a functional and structural context of human antimicrobial peptides.

Hemocidins are a recently discovered group of microbicidal peptides that emerge from heme-binding proteins, especially hemoglobin. Hemocidins have been obtained in vitro after the chemical or enzymatic fragmentation of globin molecules and have also been isolated from biological sources, such as insect guts and the tissues and excretions of the female reproductive tract. This work presents a concise review of contemporary studies concerning antibacterial peptides, especially those derived from humans, and against this broad structural and functional background discusses the properties of hemocidins.