Ribonuclease which shows a preference for the pyrimidines uridine and cytosine (, ). Has potent antibacterial activity against a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including P.aeruginosa, A.baumanii, M.luteus, S.aureus, E.faecalis, E.faecium, S.saprophyticus and E.coli (, ). Causes loss of bacterial membrane integrity, and also promotes agglutination of Gram-negative bacteria . Probably contributes to urinary tract sterility . Bactericidal activity is independent of RNase activity .
Subcellular locations: Secreted, Lysosome, Cytoplasmic granule
Highly expressed in spleen (at protein level) (, ). Has little or no expression in healthy kidneys (at protein level) . Detected in interstitial leukocytes in infected kidneys (at protein level) . Expressed in ureter where it localizes to urothelial and submucosal leukocytes (at protein level) . Strong expression in lung and thymus, and lower expression in heart, placenta, pancreas, liver, brain and skeletal muscle (, ). Also expressed in monocytes and neutrophils .