AUTHOR=Li Yanran , Yang Qiyuan , Cai Dongjie , Guo Hongrui , Fang Jing , Cui Hengmin , Gou Liping , Deng Junliang , Wang Zhisheng , Zuo Zhicai TITLE=Resistin, a Novel Host Defense Peptide of Innate Immunity JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.699807 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.699807 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Resistin, a cysteine-rich protein, expressed in adipocytes, was initially proposed as a link between obesity and diabetes in mice. In humans, resistin is considered to be a pro-inflammatory molecule expressed in immune cells, which plays a regulatory role in many chronic inflammatory diseases, metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, and cancers. However, increasing evidence shows that resistin functions as a host defense peptide of innate immunity, in terms of its wide-spectrum anti-microbial activity, modulation of immunity, and limitation of microbial product-induced inflammation. To date, the understanding of resistin participating in host defense mechanism is still limited. The review aims to summarize current knowledge about the biological properties, functions, and related mechanisms of resistin in host defense, which provides new insights into the pleiotropic biological function of resistin and yields promising strategies for developing new antimicrobial therapeutic agents.