HelixComplex snail mucus exhibits pro-survival, proliferative and pro-migration effects on mammalian fibroblasts

Abstract

Snail mucus is a mixture of active substances commonly thought to have healthy properties for the treatment of skin disorders. Although snail mucus is an ingredient of several cosmetic and para-pharmaceutic products, a comprehensive characterization of chemical composition and biological effects is still missing. Crude purified extracts from Helix aspersa muller mucus (HelixComplex) were prepared and, after chemical characterization, tested on in vitro experimental models. Differently from what expected, HelixComplex was characterized by the presence of small amounts of glycolic acid and allantoin. By using different in vitro assays on fibroblast cultures, we found that HelixComplex lacked of cytotoxicity, protected cells from apoptosis (p < 0.05) and, importantly, was able to significantly induce cell proliferation and migration through direct and indirect mechanisms. These effects were associated to morphological changes, cytoskeleton re-organization and release of cytokines. In conclusion, our findings suggest that snail mucus biological effects are attributable to cell proliferation and migration, and pave the way for further investigating snail mucus potential as therapeutic agent.

Physicochemical Properties of African Catfish Mucus and Its Effect on the Stability of Soya Milk Emulsions

“…In the same way, studies by other authors revealed that amide I bands were found in the range 1600-1700 cm −1 with bands that show C-O stretching vibrations of protein-peptide bonds which is consistent with the results obtained in the ACM [28]. The distinctive absorption bands of 3301 cm −1 , 1634 cm −1 and 1539 cm −1 in the ACM designates the presence of peptide bonds [28,64,65,70].…”

“…Twelve vital absorption peaks were observed from the spectrum of ACM ( Table 1). The peaks at 3301 and 3080 cm −1 were designated to stretching vibrations of hydroxyl groups of hydrophilic amino and defined aromatic overtone that may be due to aromatic amino acids [64,65]. The peak at 2958 cm −1 could be attributed to CH 2 , asymmetric stretch for bio-polymers such as glycoprotein or mucus [66,67].…”

“…The peak at 2924 cm −1 could be attributed to the C-H symmetric and anti-symmetric stretching vibrations in CH 2 ascribed to pyranose rings which point to aliphatic (-CH) chains in the slime [32]. The peaks at 1634 and 1539 cm −1 could be as a result of amide stretch, from ß-sheets absorption bands (Amide I bands) and aromatic C=C bending or C=C stretch in the ring (Amide II) [64,65]. The peak at 1414 cm −1 represents a C-O of carboxyl group accepting zero or one H-bond or O-H (alcohols) bend while the peak at 1136 cm −1 could represent anti-symmetric C-O-C glycoside bond, C-O strong bond stretch [29,68].…”

HelixComplex snail mucus as a potential technology against O3 induced skin damage

“…In particular, mucus form H. aspersa muller has already been reported to have different properties, such as antimicrobial activity [12] and wound repair [13,14]. The biochemical analysis of H. aspersa mucus showed the presence of mucopolysaccharide that permits considerable hydrogen bonding with adjacent water molecules, which effectively leads to hydration of the surrounding tissue [13]. In addition, it stimulates endogenous hyaluronate synthesis, resulting in an increase in water-binding capacity and viscoelasticity of the skin [13,14].…”

“…The biochemical analysis of H. aspersa mucus showed the presence of mucopolysaccharide that permits considerable hydrogen bonding with adjacent water molecules, which effectively leads to hydration of the surrounding tissue [13]. In addition, it stimulates endogenous hyaluronate synthesis, resulting in an increase in water-binding capacity and viscoelasticity of the skin [13,14]. Moreover, the presence of mucopolysaccharide could improve the adhesion of the mucus to the skin and act as a barrier to prevent epithelial cell insults from pollution and the presence of polyphenols could give to the mucus the ability to prevent and counteract the pollution induced cutaneous oxidative damage.…”