... cells, keratinocytes, and epithelialcells. When released into the extracellular milieu, theyexert their antimicrobial activity directly by attacking the microbe membrane, and in the intracellular ... species, and within a species it is regulatedby the cellular lineage, the differentiation ⁄ activationstate of the cell, and the tissue type [16]. Some antimi-crobial peptides are synthesized in the ... nonepithelial cells, in the heart, liver, and placenta [4], and hBD4 mRNA hasbeen detected in the testis, epididymis, lung tumor tis-sue [25], and gastric epithelial cells [26]. hBD1 and hBD2...