BETA-DEFENSIN-4 HUMAN

General description

Chemical structure: peptide

Defensins (alpha and beta) are cationic peptides with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity that comprise an important arm of the innate immune system. The α-defensins are distinguished from the β-defensins by the pairing of their three disulfide bonds. To date, four human b-defensins have been identified; BD-1, BD-2, BD-3 and BD-4. The β-defensin proteins are expressed as the C-terminal portion of precursors and are released by proteolytic cleavage of a signal sequence. b-defensins contain a six-cysteine motif that forms three intra-molecular disulfide bonds. β-defensins are 3-5 kDa peptides ranging in size from 33-47 amino acid residues. BD-4 is expressed in testis, stomach, uterus, neutrophils, thyroid, lung and kidney. In addition to its direct antimicrobial activities, BD-4 is chemoattractant towards human blood monocytes. Recombinant human BD-4 is a 6.0 kDa protein containing 50 amino acid residues.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Defensins (alpha and beta) are cationic peptides with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity that comprise an important arm of the innate immune system. Recombinant human BD-4 is a 6.0 kDa protein containing 50 amino acid residues.

Sequence

EFELDRICGY GTARCRKKCR SQEYRIGRCP NTYACCLRKW DESLLNRTKP

Physical form

Lyophilized from 10 mM Acetic Acid.

Reconstitution

Centrifuge the vial prior to opening. Reconstitute in 10 mM Acetic Acid to a concentration of 0.1-1.0 mg/ml. Do not vortex. This solution can be stored at 2-8°C for up to 1 week. For extended storage, it is recommended to further dilute in a buffer containing a carrier protein (example 0.1% BSA) and store in working aliquots at -20°C to -80°C.