A suite of selective pressures supports the maintenance of alleles of a immune peptide.

The innate immune system provides hosts with a crucial first line of defense against pathogens. While immune genes are often among the fastest evolving genes in the genome, in , antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are notable exceptions. Instead, AMPs may be under balancing selection, such that over evolutionary timescales multiple alleles are maintained in populations.

Histone demethylase KDM4A and KDM4B expression in granulosa cells from women undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Purpose: To assess expression of the histone demethylases KDM4A and KDM4B in granulosa collected from women undergoing oocyte retrieval and to determine if expression was related to pregnancy outcome.

Methods: Cumulus and mural granulosa cells were obtained from women undergoing oocyte retrieval. KDM4A and KDM4B mRNA expression was determined by qRT-PCR.