Histatin 3
Histatin 3, also known as HTN3, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the HTN3 gene.
Function
The primary protein encoded by HTN3 is histatin 3. Histatins are a family of small, histidine-rich, salivary proteins, encoded by at least two loci. Post-translational proteolytic processing results in many histatins: e.g., histatins 4-6 are derived from histatin 3 by proteolysis. Histatins 1 and 3 are primary products of HIS1 and HIS2 alleles, respectively. Histatins are believed to have important non-immunological, anti-microbial function in the oral cavity. Histatin 1 and histatin 2 are major wound-closing factors in human saliva.| allele | gene | protein |
| HIS1 | HTN1 | histatin 1 |
| HIS2 | HTN3 | histatin 3 → histatins 4-6 |