2013/06/24 by Richard L. Gallo · 1 citation
Immunology and Microbiology · #Immune Response and Inflammation #Immunotherapy and Immune Responses #Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
paper · doi:10.1111/exd.12197
openalex publication_date 2013/06/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Modern immunology has seen an apparent revolution with the recognition that human immune defense is not only the responsibility of bone marrow-derived leucocytes, but also dependent on a coordinated network of many cell types including epithelial cells, fibroblasts and neural elements. This classic paper by Alexander Fleming and V.D. Allison (British J of Exp Path, 111, 1922, 252) was largely forgotten for 75 years and describes the discovery that epithelia produce a protein with direct antimicrobial activity. Thus, this paper represents the birth of the field now referred to as innate immunity and first describes an antimicrobial protein (AMP).