Allergy


Pathogen Elimination

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Macrophage and Eosinophil

Basic proteins



So ROS damage the pathogen, but so do many other mediators released by degranulation! Cationic or basic proteins, like α-defensins and major basic protein (MBP), are positively charged molecules which punch holes into the bacterial cell wall resulting in leakage of cell contents leading to death. In this video you can see how a bacterium is under attack by antimicrobial peptides that, similar to basic proteins, insert themselves into the cell wall making a pore that eventually kills the bug.



Basic proteins can also be multitalented! Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) are not only toxic cationic proteins but also ribonucleases that degrade RNA to destroy viruses, and MBP also directly activates other immune cells like mast cells and basophils to release histamine.