Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function
ABSTRACT Drug resistance against bacteria and fungi has become common in recent years, and it is urgent to discover novel antimicrobial peptides to manage this problem. Many antimicrobial peptides from insects have been reported to have antifungal activity and are candidate molecules in the treatmen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.03089-22 |
| _version_ | 1797803429964283904 |
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| author | La-Mei Zhang Min Yang Sheng-Wen Zhou Hao Zhang Ying Feng Lei Shi Dong-Sheng Li Qiu-Min Lu Zhong-He Zhang Min Zhao |
| author_facet | La-Mei Zhang Min Yang Sheng-Wen Zhou Hao Zhang Ying Feng Lei Shi Dong-Sheng Li Qiu-Min Lu Zhong-He Zhang Min Zhao |
| author_sort | La-Mei Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Drug resistance against bacteria and fungi has become common in recent years, and it is urgent to discover novel antimicrobial peptides to manage this problem. Many antimicrobial peptides from insects have been reported to have antifungal activity and are candidate molecules in the treatment of human diseases. In the present study, we characterized an antifungal peptide named blapstin that was isolated from the Chinese medicinal beetle Blaps rhynchopetera used in folk medicine. The complete coding sequence was cloned from the cDNA library prepared from the midgut of B. rhynchopetera. It is a 41-amino-acid diapause-specific peptide (DSP)-like peptide stabilized by three disulfide bridges and shows antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichophyton rubrum with MICs of 7 μM and 5.3 μM, respectively. The C. albicans and T. rubrum treated with blapstin showed irregular and shrunken cell membranes. In addition, blapstin inhibited the activity of C. albicans biofilm and showed little hemolytic or toxic activity on human cells and it is highly expressed in the fat body, followed by the hemolymph, midgut, muscle, and defensive glands. These results indicate that blapstin may help insects fight against fungi and showed a potential application in the development of antifungal reagents. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans is one of the conditional pathogenic fungi causing severe nosocomial infections. Trichophyton rubrum and other skin fungi are the main pathogens of superficial cutaneous fungal diseases, especially in children and the elderly. At present, antibiotics such as amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and fluconazole are the main drugs for the clinical treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections. However, these drugs have certain acute toxicity. Long-term use can increase kidney damage and other side effects. Therefore, obtaining broad-spectrum antifungal drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity for the treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections is a top priority. Blapstin is an antifungal peptide which shows activity against C. albicans and T. rubrum. The discovery of blapstin provides a novel clue for our understanding of the innate immunity of Blaps rhynchopetera and provides a template for designing antifungal drugs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:20:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef1c39b71fd54b5192d79395637d530f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:20:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
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| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef1c39b71fd54b5192d79395637d530f2023-06-15T13:18:32ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972023-06-0111310.1128/spectrum.03089-22Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal FunctionLa-Mei Zhang0Min Yang1Sheng-Wen Zhou2Hao Zhang3Ying Feng4Lei Shi5Dong-Sheng Li6Qiu-Min Lu7Zhong-He Zhang8Min Zhao9Institute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaInstitute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, ChinaInstitute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaInstitute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, ChinaInstitute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, ChinaABSTRACT Drug resistance against bacteria and fungi has become common in recent years, and it is urgent to discover novel antimicrobial peptides to manage this problem. Many antimicrobial peptides from insects have been reported to have antifungal activity and are candidate molecules in the treatment of human diseases. In the present study, we characterized an antifungal peptide named blapstin that was isolated from the Chinese medicinal beetle Blaps rhynchopetera used in folk medicine. The complete coding sequence was cloned from the cDNA library prepared from the midgut of B. rhynchopetera. It is a 41-amino-acid diapause-specific peptide (DSP)-like peptide stabilized by three disulfide bridges and shows antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichophyton rubrum with MICs of 7 μM and 5.3 μM, respectively. The C. albicans and T. rubrum treated with blapstin showed irregular and shrunken cell membranes. In addition, blapstin inhibited the activity of C. albicans biofilm and showed little hemolytic or toxic activity on human cells and it is highly expressed in the fat body, followed by the hemolymph, midgut, muscle, and defensive glands. These results indicate that blapstin may help insects fight against fungi and showed a potential application in the development of antifungal reagents. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans is one of the conditional pathogenic fungi causing severe nosocomial infections. Trichophyton rubrum and other skin fungi are the main pathogens of superficial cutaneous fungal diseases, especially in children and the elderly. At present, antibiotics such as amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and fluconazole are the main drugs for the clinical treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections. However, these drugs have certain acute toxicity. Long-term use can increase kidney damage and other side effects. Therefore, obtaining broad-spectrum antifungal drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity for the treatment of C. albicans and T. rubrum infections is a top priority. Blapstin is an antifungal peptide which shows activity against C. albicans and T. rubrum. The discovery of blapstin provides a novel clue for our understanding of the innate immunity of Blaps rhynchopetera and provides a template for designing antifungal drugs.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.03089-22diapause-specific peptide-like peptideDSPBlaps rhynchopeterablapstinantifungalsCandida albicans |
| spellingShingle | La-Mei Zhang Min Yang Sheng-Wen Zhou Hao Zhang Ying Feng Lei Shi Dong-Sheng Li Qiu-Min Lu Zhong-He Zhang Min Zhao Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function Microbiology Spectrum diapause-specific peptide-like peptide DSP Blaps rhynchopetera blapstin antifungals Candida albicans |
| title | Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function |
| title_full | Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function |
| title_fullStr | Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function |
| title_short | Blapstin, a Diapause-Specific Peptide-Like Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera, Has Antifungal Function |
| title_sort | blapstin a diapause specific peptide like peptide from the chinese medicinal beetle blaps rhynchopetera has antifungal function |
| topic | diapause-specific peptide-like peptide DSP Blaps rhynchopetera blapstin antifungals Candida albicans |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.03089-22 |
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