DATABASE · 2,000+ PEER-REVIEWED CITATIONS INDEXEDCOMPOUND LIBRARY · 100+ EVIDENCE-GRADED RECORDSGRADE A EVIDENCE · 45 COMPOUNDS WITH MULTIPLE HUMAN RCTSHUMAN EVIDENCE · 97 COMPOUNDS WITH HUMAN STUDY DATAVENDOR DIRECTORY · 11 RESEARCH VENDORS TRACKEDCLINIC DIRECTORY · 10 TELEHEALTH PROVIDERS VETTEDCOA RECORDS · 7 BATCH CERTIFICATES ON FILELIVE DATABASE · UPDATED 2D AGODATABASE · 2,000+ PEER-REVIEWED CITATIONS INDEXEDCOMPOUND LIBRARY · 100+ EVIDENCE-GRADED RECORDSGRADE A EVIDENCE · 45 COMPOUNDS WITH MULTIPLE HUMAN RCTSHUMAN EVIDENCE · 97 COMPOUNDS WITH HUMAN STUDY DATAVENDOR DIRECTORY · 11 RESEARCH VENDORS TRACKEDCLINIC DIRECTORY · 10 TELEHEALTH PROVIDERS VETTEDCOA RECORDS · 7 BATCH CERTIFICATES ON FILELIVE DATABASE · UPDATED 2D AGO
Home/Compounds/α-Defensin 1 (HNP-1)
Healing

α-Defensin 1 (HNP-1)

Also known as: HNP-1 · Human Neutrophil Peptide 1 · DEFA1

Endogenous antimicrobial peptide stored in neutrophil granules; research-stage therapeutic.

C
Grade C
Animal studies only
Human studies28
PubMed citations30
Regulatory (US)Research only
Last verified2 days ago

Mechanism of action

Cationic antimicrobial peptide that disrupts microbial membranes and modulates innate immunity.

Evidence summary

28
Human studies
30
PubMed citations
0
Clinical trials
C
Evidence grade

Evidence summary in progress. See the citations section below for the underlying research papers.

Dosing protocols

Educational information only. Consult a licensed provider before using any peptide.

Side effects & safety

No FDA label or editorial side-effect profile is on file for this compound yet. See the clinical trials and citations sections for study-reported safety data.

Interactions

No documented drug interactions on file.

Regulatory status

United States
Not FDA approved

Not FDA approved. Research peptide.

Compounding
Not permitted

Not available via 503A/503B compounding pharmacies.

Regulatory data last verified 4/19/2026

Clinical trials

No indexed ClinicalTrials.gov studies for α-Defensin 1 (HNP-1). This usually means the compound isn't being studied under an IND — check the citations section for peer-reviewed research instead.

Citations

PMID 40137134Nikolova D, Kamenov Z et al. · Levels of DEFA1, Progranulin, and NRG4 in Patients with Autonomic Neuropathy: Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Prognosis.Metabolites (2025)HumanPMID 41385588Lafleur JE, Shaykhinurov E et al. · Blood RNA biomarkers and a point-of-care elastase assay for detecting host immune activation in suspected sepsis: Trajectory matters.PloS one (2025)HumanPMID 40306590Shaban S, Patel M et al. · Anti-virulence and anti-efflux pump activity of synthetic defensins and histatin in Candida auris.Microbial pathogenesis (2025)HumanPMID 41387681Feng J, Chen S et al. · Plasma proteomic profiles identify biomarkers predicting Crohn's disease up to 16 years before onset.Nature communications (2025)HumanPMID 39993801Jeong H, Park SW et al. · DEFA1, Primarily Expressed at the Invasive Tumor Front, Promotes OSCC Cell Invasion and Tumor Growth.Cancer genomics & proteomics (2025)HumanPMID 40680092Porter JM, Hulce KR et al. · Mechanisms of AAV neutralization by human alpha-defensins.PLoS pathogens (2025)HumanPMID 38115295Baran Aİ, Huyut Z et al. · Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid levels for ALOX5, S100B, DEFA1, and GFAP in infectious meningitis.Medicine (2023)HumanPMID 36703795Zhao X, Lu M et al. · Comprehensive analysis of alfa defensin expression and prognosis in human colorectal cancer.Frontiers in oncology (2023)HumanPMID 36769137Sánchez-Peña FJ, Romero-Tlalolini MLÁ et al. · LL-37 Triggers Antimicrobial Activity in Human Platelets.International journal of molecular sciences (2023)HumanPMID 35019682Xie Q, Wang Y et al. · Recombinant HNP-1 Produced by Escherichia coli Triggers Bacterial Apoptosis and Exhibits Antibacterial Activity against Drug-Resistant Bacteria.Microbiology spectrum (2022)HumanPMID 34746027Shrivastava S, Chelluboina S et al. · Elevated Levels of Neutrophil Activated Proteins, Alpha-Defensins (DEFA1), Calprotectin (S100A8/A9) and Myeloperoxidase (MPO) Are Associated With Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology (2021)HumanPMID 30718392Chen Q, Yang Y et al. · Increased gene copy number of DEFA1/DEFA3 worsens sepsis by inducing endothelial pyroptosis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2019)HumanPMID 30160144Chen W, Liu Z et al. · Induction and antiviral activity of human β-defensin 3 in intestinal cells with picornavirus infection.Acta virologica (2019)HumanPMID 29800568Howell K, de Leeuw E · Cell adhesion properties of human defensins.Biochemical and biophysical research communications (2018)HumanPMID 29950924Zhao J, Gu Q et al. · Low-Copy Number Polymorphism in DEFA1/DEFA3 Is Associated with Susceptibility to Hospital-Acquired Infections in Critically Ill Patients.Mediators of inflammation (2018)HumanPMID 27840892Maeda T, Sakiyama T et al. · Low concentrations of human neutrophil peptide ameliorate experimental murine colitis.International journal of molecular medicine (2017)HumanPMID 25391391Thompson DB, Siref LE et al. · Immunological basis in the pathogenesis and treatment of bladder cancer.Expert review of clinical immunology (2015)HumanPMID 25769951Michalek M, Jung S et al. · Solution structure and functional studies of the highly potent equine antimicrobial peptide DEFA1.Biochemical and biophysical research communications (2015)PMID 25083086Németh BC, Várkonyi T et al. · Relevance of α-defensins (HNP1-3) and defensin β-1 in diabetes.World journal of gastroenterology (2015)HumanPMID 26347737Martin L, van Meegern A et al. · Antimicrobial Peptides in Human Sepsis.Frontiers in immunology (2015)Human

Showing 20 of 30 papers. View all on PubMed →