Pharmaco-medical Application of Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Insect

Abstract

By this time, insect antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been characterized more than 150 peptides since purification of cecropin in the hemolymph of pupae from Hyalophora cecropia in 1980. Therefore, it is considered that insects are good sources of AMP selection. Insect AMPs are small (low molecular weight) and cationic, and amphipathic with variable length, sequence, and structure. They perform a pivotal role on humoral immunity in the insect innate immune system against invading pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Most of the insect AMPs are induced rapidly in the fat bodies and other specific tissues of insects after septic injury or immune challenge. Then the AMPs subsequently released into the hemolymph to act against microorganisms. These peptides have a broad antimicrobial spectrum against various microbes including anticancer activities. Insect AMPs could be divided into four families based on their structures and sequences. That is the α-helical peptides, cysteine-rich peptides, proline-rich peptides, and glycine-rich peptides/proteins. For instance, cecropins, insect defensins, proline-rich peptides, and attacins are common insect AMPs, but gloverins and moricins have been identified only in lepidopteran species. This review focuses on AMPs from insects and discusses current knowledge and recent progress with potential applications of insect AMPs.Key words : Antimicrobial activity, antimicrobial peptides, innate immunity, insect, pathogen *Corresponding author *Tel : +82-63-238-2974, Fax : +82-63-238-3833 *E-mail : hwangjs@korea.kr This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. -Review -

Anti-Thrombotic, Anti-Oxidant and Haemolysis Activities of Six Edible Insect Species

“…Recently, the useful bioactivities of certain insects, such as the anti-adipogenic effect of T. molitor larvae in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and anti-obesity effects of T. molitor larvae in high-fat diet-induced obese mice [15], as well as the cytotoxic effect of T. molitor larvae extract against prostate (PC3 and 22Rv1), cervix (HeLa), liver (PLC/PRF5, HepG2, Hep3B, and SK-HEP-1), colon (HCT116), lung (NCI-H460), breast (MDA-MB231), and ovary (SKOV3) cancer cells [16], and lipid and homocysteine-lowering effects of T. molitor larvae in the plasma and liver of obese Zucker rats [17], were reported. In addition, the anti-microbial peptides from A. mellifera (royalisin), Sacophaga peregrine (sapecin), Anopheles gambiae and B. mori (defensin A, B, C) [18], the haemolysis activity of crude venom and mellitin from A. mellifera and wasp [19,20] and anti-exercise-fatigue activity of drone pupae extract of wasp in mice [21] were reported. However, limited information is available on their role as anti-oxidants and their bio-medical functional impact in connection with thrombosis-related issues and haemolysis remains unknown.…”