Influence of gender on epithelial host defence peptide gene expression under non-infected and infected conditions: A basic medical research study

Bacterial resistance against conventional antibiotics is increasing. This introduces challenges, for example, in the treatment of infected surgical wounds. Host defence peptides (HDP), which are endogenous peptide antibiotics, show broad-spectrum antimicrobial effectiveness. They protect the organism against pathological microorganisms. Synthetic HDP might supplement or even become alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Knowledge of their quantities under physiological and pathophysiological conditions is therefore required. The influence of gender on HDP expression is unknown. This study evaluates whether gender influences HDP expression in infected or healthy epithelium.