UC Davis School of Medicine, 2516 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Pediatrics. 2010 Jun;125(6):1237-47. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3289. Epub 2010 May 17.
Defensins and related antimicrobial peptides serve a central role in innate immunity in all species of plants and animals. In humans, defensins are widely expressed, including in neutrophils, skin, and mucosal epithelia. Most defensins are potent antibiotics, and some have chemotactic and toxin-neutralizing activities. Results of recent studies on the homeostatic and disease-fighting activities of human defensins point to a key relevance in several pediatric disorders. Inherited variation in defensin gene expression may contribute to susceptibility to several diseases, including psoriasis and Crohn disease. We review here the recent discoveries in innate immunity that shed light on the potential roles of defensins, and other antimicrobial molecules, in the pathophysiology of common pediatric diseases such as atopic dermatitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, cystic fibrosis, and otitis media.
防御素和相关的抗菌肽在所有动植物的先天免疫中起着核心作用。在人类中，防御素广泛表达，包括中性粒细胞、皮肤和黏膜上皮细胞。大多数防御素是有效的抗生素，有些具有趋化作用和中和毒素的活性。最近关于人类防御素的稳态和抗病活性的研究结果表明，它们在几种儿科疾病中具有重要相关性。防御素基因表达的遗传变异可能导致多种疾病的易感性，包括银屑病和克罗恩病。我们在这里回顾了先天免疫的最新发现，这些发现揭示了防御素和其他抗菌分子在常见儿科疾病（如特应性皮炎、坏死性小肠结肠炎、囊性纤维化和中耳炎）的病理生理学中的潜在作用。
