Figure 1.

The many roles of β-defensins. β-defensins have been shown to have a wide range of roles, that go far beyond basic antimicrobial activity. These can loosely be grouped into five key groups; triggering and enhancing, chemoattraction (chemoattractive), neutral antagonist, non-resolving and resolving. These functions are represented here, alongside the most prominent cell types/tissues/organisms associated with that particular role. Particular receptors that are known be involved in these pathways have also been highlighted, alongside the consequence of the β-defensin stimulus. These have also been grouped into pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory (or neither). Abbreviations: interferon (IFN), toll like receptor (TLR), Dendritic Cell (DC), interleukin (IL), T helper (Th), regulatory B cell (Breg). β-defensin structure taken from PBD reference 1kj6 (44).