HTN3 belongs to the histatin/statherin family. Histatins are salivary proteins that are considered to be major precursors of the protective proteinaceous structure on tooth surfaces (enamel pellicle). In addition, histatins exhibit antibacterial and antifungal activities. 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 HIS1and HIS2 alleles, respectively. Histatins are believed to have important non-immunological, anti-microbial function in the oral cavity.