 Antimicrobial peptides represent an important component of the innate immune defenses of organisms ranging from plants to insects to humans. They are broad-spectrum, surface-active agents that kill microbes by forming pores in their membranes. Most have broad spectrum of activities against bacteria, viruses and fungi. In mammals, two major classes of antimicrobial peptides have been described- defensins and cathelicidins LL-37. The defensins are a subclass of antimicrobial peptides, and in mammals, they are present in neutrophil granules where they are necessary for the non-oxidative killing of phagocytised microbes 8. It is now well established that defensins are also produced at virtually all epithelial surfaces of mammals, including those of the skin, airways, gut, and urogenital tracts 9, 10. Expression of some epithelial defensins is constitutive and contributes to a non-inflammatory antimicrobial barrier at the epithelial surface. Other defensins are inducible and highly expressed at sites of inflammation or infection 9, 11, 12. Impairment of defensin functions increases susceptibility to infection of the airway in cystic fibrosis 13 and to enhanced Salmonella infection in the mouse intestinal tract 14. In addition to their direct antimicrobial activities, Beta-defensins are chemotactic for memory T cells and dendritic cells, suggesting that they play an important role in the integration of the innate and acquired immune responses 15. 