Innate antimicrobial peptide protects the skin from invasive bacterial infection

In mammals, several gene families encode peptides with antibacterial activity, such as the beta-defensins and cathelicidins. These peptides are expressed on epithelial surfaces and in neutrophils, and have been proposed to provide a first line of defence against infection by acting as 'natural antibiotics'. The protective effect of antimicrobial peptides is brought into question by observations that several of these peptides are easily...