摘要β-防御素是一类富含精氨酸,而且具有特殊结构的小分子阳离子多肽,是过去几十年里寻找新型抗生素的重要发现之一.对人类基因组序列的分析表明,人染色编码体的基因含有多达一百多种的β-防御素,它们是连接固有免疫和适应性免疫的重要因子.β-防御素不但对多种细菌、真菌、病毒等具有直接的杀伤作用,而且还与肿瘤发生、组织修复以及生殖成熟等生理过程密切相关.

abstractsThe beta-defensins are a kind of cystin-rich cationic small peptides with special structure. Thediscovery of beta-defensins is one of the most important achievements when seaching novel antibiotic in thepast decades. Analyzing the human genomic sequence database reveales that the human chromosomes encodemore than one hundred beta-defensins. Beta-defensins are important agents linking innate to adaptive immuni-ty. Beta-defensins have not only direct lethal effect to bacteria, fungi, and viruses, but also close correlationto the physiological process of tumorigenesis, tissue repair, and reproductive maturation.