ReviewFrontiers in immunology2020
Defensins: A Double-Edged Sword in Host Immunity.
Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
133 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 231 citations in OpenAlex.
- Paneth Cells: Recent Updates on Elucidating Therapeutic Implications in Gastroenterological Disease Management.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Pooled it
- Therapeutic Prospection of Animal Venoms-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides against Infections by Multidrug-ResistantToxins · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A 14-Day Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Crossover Intervention Study with Anti-Bacterial Benzyl Isothiocyanate from Nasturtium (Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Animal-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides: Emerging Therapeutic Strategies against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Engineering Protein-Based HIV Entry Inhibitors: Advances, Challenges, and Translational Strategies.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Unraveling the genomic structures, conserved functional domains and evolutionary dynamics of beta-defensins in Bubalus bubalis and Ovis aries.Immunogenetics · 2026Article
- Potential of Antimicrobial Peptide Synergies for Combating Infectious Diseases in Aquaculture: A Review.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Serum Defensins in Differentiating Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis from Breast Cancer-Defensins in Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis and Breast Cancer.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond the Barrier: Epithelial Cells as Immune Sentinels in the Female Genital Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Gut commensal Parabacteroides goldsteinii protects against Salmonella infection in mice by enhancing innate defense function.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial Peptides and Systemic Inflammation: A Network Analysis.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2026Article
- Lung organoids as a human system for Mycobacteria infection modeling and drug testing.The FEBS journal · 2026Review
- Alpha-defensins promote macrophage inflammatory activation via RNF31 signaling.Genes & genomics · 2026Article
- Fecal metaproteomics reveals alterations in gut microbiota and intestinal proteins in adolescents with bipolar depression.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Non-specific Protein and Peptide Antibacterial Factors of Mammals.The protein journal · 2026Review
- Unveiling the Potential of Fish Swim Bladder-Derived Biomaterials in Urological Care.Advances in urology · 2026Review
- Vitamin D-AMP axis in host defense against fungal infections.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Broad-spectrum host-targeting antivirals for rhinovirus infections: mechanisms and future perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Defensins as natural antimicrobial peptide scaffolds against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens: mechanisms, resistance risks, and translational prospects.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Defensins are a major family of host defense peptides expressed predominantly in neutrophils and epithelial cells. Their broad antimicrobial activities and multifaceted immunomodulatory functions have been extensively studied, cementing their role in innate immunity as a core host-protective component against bacterial, viral and fungal infections. More recent studies, however, paint defensins in a bad light such that they are "alleged" to promote viral and bacterial infections in certain biological settings. This mini review summarizes the latest findings on the potential pathogenic properties of defensins against the backdrop of their protective roles in antiviral and antibacterial immunity. Further, a succinct description of both tumor-proliferative and -suppressive activities of defensins is also given to highlight their functional and mechanistic complexity in antitumor immunity. We posit that given an enabling environment defensins, widely heralded as the "Swiss army knife," can function as a "double-edged sword" in host immunity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.