Defensin, alpha 6 (DEFA6) also known as human alpha defensin 6 (HD6) is a human protein that is encoded by the ''DEFA6''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

. ''DEFA6'' is expressed in the

Paneth cells Paneth cells are cells in the small intestine epithelium, alongside goblet cells, enterocytes, and enteroendocrine cells. Some can also be found in the cecum and appendix. They are below the intestinal stem cells in the intestinal glands (also ...

of the

ileum The ileum () is the final section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms posterior intestine or distal intestine m ...

Function

The

alpha defensins Alpha defensins are a family of mammalian defensin peptides of the alpha subfamily. In mammals they are also known as cryptdins and are produced within the small bowel. ''Cryptdin'' is a portmanteau of ''crypt'' and ''defensin''. Defensins are 2- ...

are a family of microbicidal and cytotoxic peptides that defend the host against bacteria and

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...

. HD6 has poor antibacterial potency. However, HD6 affords protection against invasion by

enteric The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

bacterial

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a ger ...

by self-assembly to form

fibrils Fibrils (from the Latin ''fibra'') are structural biological materials found in nearly all living organisms. Not to be confused with fibers or filaments, fibrils tend to have diameters ranging from 10-100 nanometers (whereas fibers are micro ...

and

nanonets A nanonet is a net with fibers on the scale of nanometers. The net can be composed of carbon, metals, silicon, or peptides, such as nanonets composed of the defensin HD6 Defensin, alpha 6 (DEFA6) also known as human alpha defensin 6 (HD6) is a ...

that surround and entangle bacteria. Several alpha

defensin Defensins are small cysteine-rich cationic proteins across cellular life, including vertebrate and invertebrate animals, plants, and fungi. They are host defense peptides, with members displaying either direct antimicrobial activity, immune si ...

genes, including ''DEFA6'', are clustered on chromosome 8.

References

External links

PDBe-KB
provides an overview of all the structure information available in the PDB for Human Defensin-6 Defensins {{gene-8-stub

Function

References

Further reading

External links