Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Immune Environment in Glioblastoma (Upcoming)
    • Korsmeyer Award 25th Anniversary Collection (Jan 2023)
    • Aging (Jul 2022)
    • Next-Generation Sequencing in Medicine (Jun 2022)
    • New Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Diseases (Mar 2022)
    • Immunometabolism (Jan 2022)
    • Circadian Rhythm (Oct 2021)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Research letters
    • Letters to the editor
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • In-Press Preview
  • Commentaries
  • Research letters
  • Letters to the editor
  • Editorials
  • Viewpoint
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Top
  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Share this article
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal
  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Version history
  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Advertisement

Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI2410

Human beta-defensin 2 is a salt-sensitive peptide antibiotic expressed in human lung.

R Bals, X Wang, Z Wu, T Freeman, V Bafna, M Zasloff, and J M Wilson

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Bals, R. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Wang, X. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Wu, Z. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Freeman, T. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Bafna, V. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Zasloff, M. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Institute for Human Gene Therapy, Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Engineering, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Find articles by Wilson, J. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Published September 1, 1998 - More info

Published in Volume 102, Issue 5 on September 1, 1998
J Clin Invest. 1998;102(5):874–880. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI2410.
© 1998 The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published September 1, 1998 - Version history
View PDF
Abstract

Previous studies have implicated the novel peptide antibiotic human beta-defensin 1 (hBD-1) in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis. We describe in this report the isolation and characterization of the second member of this defensin family, human beta-defensin 2 (hBD-2). A cDNA for hBD-2 was identified by homology to hBD-1. hBD-2 is expressed diffusely throughout epithelia of many organs, including the lung, where it is found in the surface epithelia and serous cells of the submucosal glands. A specific antibody made of recombinant peptide detected hBD-2 in airway surface fluid of human lung. The fully processed peptide has broad antibacterial activity against many organisms, which is salt sensitive and synergistic with lysozyme and lactoferrin. These data suggest the existence of a family of beta-defensin molecules on mucosal surfaces that in the aggregate contributes to normal host defense.

Version history
  • Version 1 (September 1, 1998): No description

Article tools

  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Share this article
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal

Metrics

  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Go to

  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Version history
Advertisement
Advertisement

Copyright © 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts