[4] Dermcidin is a secreted protein that is subsequently processed into mature peptides of distinct biological activities.

A glycosylated form of the N-terminal peptide may be associated with cachexia (muscle wasting) in cancer patients.

The full length precursor is processed by undetermined proteases present in human sweat, to form several shorter peptides that show variable antimicrobial activity, named according to their C-terminal triplet of amino acids and their residue length.

[5] The crystal structure of dermcidin has been solved in solution to reveal a hexameric helix-bundle, mediated by Zn ion binding.

This is supported by concurrent observations in experimental studies of a voltage dependent depolarization of lipid bilayers.