Eccrine sweat glands, which are distributed over the whole bodies of primates 
and humans, have long been regarded mainly to have a function in 
thermoregulation. However, the discovery of dermcidin-derived antimicrobial 
peptides in eccrine sweat demonstrated that sweat actively participates in the 
constitutive innate immune defense of human skin against infection. In the 
meantime, a number of studies proved the importance of dermcidin in skin host 
defense. Several reports also state that peptides processed from the dermcidin 
precursor protein exhibit a range of other biological functions in neuronal and 
cancer cells. This review summarizes the evidence gathered until now concerning 
the expression of dermcidin and the functional relevance of dermcidin-derived 
peptides.