Diversity of Antimicrobial Peptides in Silkworm

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon that the present-day world is witnessing that poses a serious threat to global health. The decline in the development of novel therapeutics over the last couple of decades has exacerbated the situation further. In this scenario, the pursuit of new alternative therapeutics to commonly used antibiotics has gained predominance amongst researchers across the world. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from natural sources have drawn significant interest in the recent years as promising pharmacological substitutes over the conventional antibiotics. The most notable advantage of AMPs is that microorganisms cannot develop resistance to them. Insects represent one of the potential sources of AMPs, which are synthesized as part of an innate immune defence against invading pathogens. AMPs from different insects have been extensively studied, and silkworm is one of them. Diverse classes of AMPs (including attacins, cecropins, defensins, enbocins, gloverins, lebocins and moricins) were identified from silkworm that exhibit antimicrobial property against bacteria, fungi and viruses, indicating their potential therapeutic benefits. This review briefs about the immune responses of silkworm to invading pathogens, the isolation of AMPs from silkworms, AMPs reported in silkworms and their activity against various microorganisms.

Antimicrobial Peptides: Principal Defense Constituents of Silk Worms - A Review

“…Plasmatocytes and granulocytes recognize the foreign substances and activates its immune responses by the process of phagocytosis (Lavine and Strand, 2002;Dubovskiy et al, 2016). Oenocytes are rich in prophenoloxidases (PPO) and are mostly engagaed in melanization mechanism, while spherulocytes functions are still to be discovered (Makwana et al, 2023). In humoral immunity, certain peptides known as antimicrobial peptides are produced in insect hemolymph upon microbial infection (Bulet et al, 1999).…”

“…The fat body and occasionally, other immunocompetent tissues such as epithelium, midgut epithelium, and hemocytes are the key sites where the humoral immune responses is initiated (Pradeep et al, 2013;Jayaram et al, 2014;Lekha et al, 2014;Lekha et al, 2015;Makwana et al, 2021). This immunity involves the activation of signaling pathways like Toll, Immunodeficiency (Imd), and Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways in immuneresponsive tissue and cells of host to create AMPs and other effector molecules (Makwana et al, 2023).…”

“…Antibiotic abuse in human and animal healthcare, particularly in the majority of developing countries, has caused threat in recent decades (Huan et al, 2020;Manniello et al, 2021;Ramzah et al, 2023). Scientists have predicted that antibiotic-resistance disease have the ability to kill millions of people per year and could cost the downfall of economy more than $100 trillion (Makwana et al, 2023). Development of new classes of antimicrobial drugs has slowed down over the past 35 years, which makes this undertaking much more challenging.…”

“…Development of new classes of antimicrobial drugs has slowed down over the past 35 years, which makes this undertaking much more challenging. As a result, there is an urgency of production and identifications of new antibiotic classes with therapeutics potential for treating variety of infectious disease in both humans and animals (Makwana et al, 2023).…”