DEFA1

What is DEFA1 Protein?

DEFA1, short for defensin alpha 1, is like a tiny warrior protein your body uses to fend off germs. Found mainly in immune cells like neutrophils and platelets, it tackles bacteria by messing with their cell walls and knocking them out. DEFA1 is particularly effective against bacteria like E. coli, which are common troublemakers when it comes to infections. Scientists are eager to learn more about DEFA1 because it might unlock new strategies for combating infections, especially important as antibiotic resistance becomes more widespread. Simply put, DEFA1 is a vital player in your immune system, tirelessly protecting your health.

What is the Function of DEFA1 Protein?

DEFA1 is a protein that plays a big role in your body's defense system, acting like a mini bodyguard against harmful bacteria. It’s really good at recognizing and destroying invaders like E. coli by breaking down their cell walls. Imagine it as a vigilant security guard that's always patrolling at the cellular level. Scientists are keen on studying DEFA1 because understanding how it works can lead to new ways to tackle infections, especially now when antibiotic resistance is becoming a bigger problem. It's all about finding smarter ways to keep our bodies healthy and balanced.

DEFA1 Related Signaling Pathway

The DEFA1-related signaling pathway is all about how this protein gets activated and does its job defending your body. Imagine a complex network of signals—kind of like a series of text messages—being sent between different parts of your immune system. When bacteria invade, DEFA1 steps up, triggered by these signals to attack the invaders. It uses pathways involving receptors on the surface of immune cells, which help it latch onto and break down bacterial cells. Scientists are diving deep into these pathways to better understand how DEFA1 swings into action. By figuring out these details, they hope to find new treatments to boost its effectiveness or mimic its actions, especially in our fight against infections that don’t respond well to antibiotics. So, the more we learn about these signaling pathways, the better we can harness DEFA1’s natural defense powers.

DEFA1 Related Diseases

DEFA1 is tied to a range of diseases, mostly because of its critical role in immune defense. When DEFA1 isn’t balanced, it can open the door to various health issues. For example, if there’s not enough of it, your body might have a tougher time keeping infections at bay, which can make you more prone to things like bacterial infections caused by E. coli. On the other hand, too much DEFA1 can lead to problems like chronic inflammation, which is a big deal in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. Researchers are diving into the details of how DEFA1 is involved in these diseases to find better prevention and treatment strategies. By understanding how DEFA1 functions and interacts with the rest of the body's systems, we could unlock new ways to fight off infections and manage inflammation-related conditions.

Bioapplications of DEFA1

DEFA1 has some really exciting bioapplications, thanks to its natural ability to fend off bacteria. One potential use is in developing new antibiotics, especially as more bacteria become resistant to the ones we use today. Imagine having a treatment that uses DEFA1’s method of breaking down bacterial walls—it's like having a natural weapon against germs. Also, DEFA1 could be used in creating coatings for medical devices to prevent infections. You know how implants and catheters can sometimes lead to nasty infections? A DEFA1 coating might reduce that risk by keeping the surfaces germ-free. Researchers are also exploring its role in wound healing, using it to not only fight off infections but also possibly speed up the healing process. With antibiotic resistance being such a huge concern, DEFA1's natural properties are creating a buzz in the scientific community for all these promising uses.

Case Study 1: Chen Q. et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019

Sepsis causes millions of cases and deaths yearly, with limited treatments. The HNP1-3 proteins vary in neutrophils due to gene copy differences. Higher DEFA1/DEFA3 gene copies link to worse organ damage in sepsis, but until now, proof was scarce. Researchers designed mice with these genes and found that more copies lead to severe organ damage. HNP-1 triggers this through a specific pathway, but our engineered antibody blocks this effect, protecting the mice. This discovery shows DEFA gene copies impact sepsis and suggests personalized treatment options.

• 
  Fig1. Survival over time after performance of CLP in WT mice.
• 
  Fig2. Representative in vivo time-lapse imaging by two-photon laser scanning microscopy showing leukocyte adhesion in mesenteric vessels in WT mice.

Case Study 2: Valle-Jiménez X. et al. Platelets. 2020

Platelets are cell fragments involved in immune defense, known for releasing proteins that kill bacteria. While it's known they release peptides like hBD-1, details on their alpha defensin secretion were scarce. Researchers looked at defensin alpha 1 (DEFA1) in human platelets and megakaryocytes. The findings show DEFA1 is present in peripheral blood platelets and a leukemia cell line (MEG-01). It’s found with specific granules in these cells and in MEG-01's cytoplasm. MEG-01 cells can transfer DEFA1 mRNA to their platelet-like particles. When activated, platelets release DEFA1, which can stick back to their surface and combat E. coli.

• 
  Fig3. Flow cytometry analysis of purified platelets from healthy donors.
• 
  Fig4. The concentration of DEFA1 were analysed by ELISA on the supernatants of the PLPs incubated with serum.

DEFA1 has several biochemical functions, for example, . Some of the functions are cooperated with other proteins, some of the functions could acted by DEFA1 itself. We selected most functions DEFA1 had, and list some proteins which have the same functions with DEFA1. You can find most of the proteins on our site.

Function	Related Protein

DEFA1 has direct interactions with proteins and molecules. Those interactions were detected by several methods such as yeast two hybrid, co-IP, pull-down and so on. We selected proteins and molecules interacted with DEFA1 here. Most of them are supplied by our site. Hope this information will be useful for your research of DEFA1.

Dynll1;PFDN1;ZNF16;GSK3B;P/V/C