Immunolocalization of clavanins in Styela clava hemocytes.

Antimicrobial peptides play an important role in innate host defenses against infection. Clavanins are histidine-rich, amidated, 23-residue alpha-helical antimicrobial peptides that were isolated from a mixed population of Styela clava hemocytes. To learn which types of hemocytes contained clavanins, we raised a polyclonal antibody that recognized five different clavanins, and used it to localize these peptides by light and electron microscopy.