Abstract
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is protected by a network of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) located in strategic areas of the GI mucosa, with different modes of killing, timing of activation, and intervention. This is the environment welcoming each pathogen entering in the GI tract, and at the same time, the environment in which bacterial commensals have learned to survive. In this chapter, we will describe this architecture of AMPs and the current knowledge on their mechanism of action against different microbes in the intestinal mucosa. We then focus on the likely journey of Clostridium difficile through the GI tract of a healthy host in comparison to an immunocompromised host. As our understanding of enteric defensins grows, their potential as tools of clinical intervention becomes a feasible option.
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