Detection of chimeric alpha-defensin transcripts and peptides in mouse Paneth cells.

Introduction: In mammals, Paneth cells, located in the crypts of the small intestine, produceantimicrobial peptides that serve to keep the intestinal microbiome under control. a-Defensins are the primary antimicrobial peptides produced by these cells.

Methods: We used 148 publicly available bulk RNA-seq samples on purified PCs, proteomics on enriched purified PC proteins and peptide activity assays to detect all transcrips, including potential chimeric transcrips.