Local expression of apolipoprotein A-I gene and a possible role for HDL in primary defence in the carp skin

Antimicrobial proteins and peptides play an important role in the primary defence of epithelial barriers in vertebrates and invertebrates. Here we report the detection of the apolipoproteins A-I and A-II in the epidermis and epidermal mucus of the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Both apolipoproteins are major constituents of high density lipoprotein and have been shown to display antiviral and antimicrobial activity in mammals. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate if they could be part of the innate immune system of teleost fish. A cDNA clone containing most of the coding region for carp apoA-I was isolated and used as a probe to demonstrate the expression of apoA-I gene in the skin. In addition, mucus apoA-I was shown to be associated to small particles that could correspond to nascent HDL. Finally, affinity purified plasma HDL displayed bactericidal activity in vitro against a non-pathogenic Escherichia coli strain, suggesting a defensive role for HDL and its associated proteins in the carp epidermis and mucus.     

Cloning, expression analysis and bioactivity studies of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) interleukin-22

This report describes the cloning and characterisation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) interleukin (IL)-22, and presents studies of the functional activity of its recombinant protein for the first time in a non-mammalian species. The predicted IL-22 coding region consists of 522 nucleotides which translates into a 173 amino acid protein, that contains an IL-10 family signature which is reasonably well conserved with other vertebrate IL-22 molecules. Expression analysis in tissues from healthy fish revealed a higher constitutive expression of IL-22 in mucosal tissues, suggesting a potentially important role in mucosal immunity. In vitro studies demonstrated that IL-22 expression was induced significantly by PHA and PMA in splenocyte primary cultures 4h post-stimulation. Expression was also induced in the spleen upon infection of fish with the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia ruckeri, suggesting a potential role of IL-22 in vivo in defence against bacterial diseases. The Escherichia coli produced recombinant IL-22 enhanced the expression of a number of antimicrobial peptides, promoting host innate immunity against microbes and revealing a biological similarity with its mammalian counterpart.     

Antibacterial proteins in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Antibacterial proteins are an important part of the innate immune system for all animals. They have been extensively studied in mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, but have received only scant attention in fish. Their expression and processing, however, provide a way of monitoring defence vigour during development or with seasonal changes in physiology. The aim of the present work was to identify and characterise antibacterial proteins in rainbow trout. In vitro analyses of extracts of the peripheral blood leucocytes, head kidney leucocytes and mucus from adult unstimulated (non-immune) fish showed marked antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacteria. Fractionation by ion exchange chromatography and RP-HPLC of head kidney extracts showed the presence of two forms of lysozyme but no constitutively expressed antimicrobial proteins of < 10 kDa. By contrast, chromatographic analyses of mucus revealed at least four antibacterial proteins. Two are conventional lysozymes, a third is an unusual lysozyme-like protein with a low isoelectric point, and the fourth is a highly hydrophobic, cationic peptide of c. 3 kDa.     

Comparison of antimicrobial activity in the epidermal mucus extracts of fish

The mucus layer on the surface of fish consists of several antimicrobial agents that provide a first line of defense against invading pathogens. To date, little is known about the antimicrobial properties of the mucus of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), brook trout (S. fontinalis), koi carp (Cyprinus carpio sub sp. koi), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and hagfish (Myxine glutinosa). The epidermal mucus samples from these fish were extracted with acidic, organic and aqueous solvents to identify potential antimicrobial agents including basic peptides, secondary metabolites, aqueous and acid soluble compounds. Initial screening of the mucus extracts against a susceptible strain of Salmonella enterica C610, showed a significant variation in antimicrobial activity among the fish species examined. The acidic mucus extracts of brook trout, haddock and hagfish exhibited bactericidal activity. The organic mucus extracts of brook trout, striped bass and koi carp showed bacteriostatic activity. There was no detectable activity in the aqueous mucus extracts. Further investigations of the activity of the acidic mucus extracts of brook trout, haddock and hagfish showed that these fish species had specific activity for fish and human pathogens, demonstrating the role of fish mucus in antimicrobial protection. In comparison to brook trout and haddock, the minimum bactericidal concentrations of hagfish acidic mucus extracts were found to be approximately 1.5 to 3.0 times lower against fish pathogens and approximately 1.6 to 6.6 folds lower for human pathogens. This preliminary information suggests that the mucus from these fish species may be a source of novel antimicrobial agents for fish and human health related applications.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of novel 2-thiazolylimino-5-arylidene-4-thiazolidinones

New 2-thiazolylimino-5-arylidene-4-thiazolidinones (compounds 4a-j), unsubstituted or carrying hydroxy, methoxy, nitro and chloro groups on the benzene ring, were synthesized and assayed in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, yeasts and mould. The compounds were very potent towards all tested Gram positive microorganisms (MIC ranging from 0.03 to 6 microg/mL in most of the cases) and Gram negative Haemophilus influenzae (MIC 0.15-1.5 microg/mL), whereas no effectiveness was exhibited against Gram negative Escherichia coli and fungi up to the concentration of 100 microg/mL. The 5-arylidene derivatives showed an antibacterial efficacy considerably greater than that of the parent 2-(thiazol-2-ylimino)thiazolidin-4-one 3, suggesting that the substituted and unsubstituted 5-arylidene moiety plays an important role in enhancing the antimicrobial properties of this class of compounds. The remarkable inhibition of the growth of penicillin-resistant staphylococci makes these substances promising agents also for the treatment of infections caused by microorganisms resistant to currently available drugs.     

Characterisation of immune responses in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

The innate immune system of insects provides effective defence against a range of parasites and pathogens. The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, is a novel study system for investigating host-parasite interactions due to its complex associations with both well-characterised bacterial symbionts and a diversity of pathogens and parasites, including several important biological control agents. However, little is known about the cellular and humoral immune responses of aphids. Here we identify three morphologically distinct types of haemocytes in circulation that we name prohemocytes, granulocytes and oenocytoids. Granulocytes avidly phagocytose Gram negative Escherechia coli and Gram positive Micrococcus luteus while oenocytoids exhibit melanotic activity. Prohaemocytes increase in abundance immediately following an immune challenge, irrespective of the source of stimulus. Pea aphids form melanotic capsules around Sephadex beads but do not form cellular capsules. We also did not detect any antimicrobial peptide activity in the haemolymph using zone of inhibition assays. We discuss these results in relation to recent findings from the pea aphid genome annotation project that suggest that aphids have a reduced immune gene repertoire compared to other insects.     

Halocyntin and papillosin,two new antimicrobial peptides isolated from hemocytes of the solitary tunicate,Halocynthia papillosa

We report here the screening of five marine invertebrate species from two taxa (tunicates and echinoderms) for the presence of cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMP) in defence cells (hemocytes). Antimicrobial activities were detected only in the two tunicates Microcosmus sabatieri and Halocynthia papillosa. In addition, we report the isolation and characterization of two novel peptides from H. papillosa hemocytes. These molecules display antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. Complete peptide characterization was obtained by a combination of Edman degradation and mass spectrometry. The mature molecules, named halocyntin and papillosin, comprise 26 and 34 amino acid residues, respectively. Their primary structure display no significant similarities with previously described AMP. Copyright © 2009 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable expression of bioactive recombinant pleurocidin in a fish cell line

Pleurocidin (Ple), a linear cationic peptide of 25 amino acids, is a member of a larger family of antimicrobial peptides present in flatfish. Previous studies have shown that Ple displays a strong antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of bacteria and appears to play a role in innate host defence. In this work, the genomic sequence encoding the Ple prepropeptide has been isolated from Limanda limanda and cloned in a vector under the control of a non-viral promoter (the carp β-actin promoter). By using this construction, expression of bioactive Ple was demonstrated in transformed fish cell lines continuously growing for more than 2 years. Furthermore, the study of Ple processing, maturation and secretion (by using fusion with green fluorescence protein) and the high bactericidal activity of the secreted recombinant Ple (detectable in cell supernatants without any concentration) are all reported here, as no other recombinant Ple or fish antimicrobial peptide have been expressed before to that extent. Such an overexpression of recombinant Ple or any other related antimicrobial peptide might improve the chances to develop new antibiotic agents, as well as to provide essential information about the mechanism of action, range of activity and the role in the innate immune response of antibiotic peptides.     

Bioengineering and functional characterization of arenicin shortened analogs with enhanced antibacterial activity and cell selectivity

New bioengineering approaches are required for development of more active and less toxic antimicrobial peptides. In this study we used β‐hairpin antimicrobial peptide arenicin‐1 as a template for design of more potent antimicrobials. In particular, six shortened 17‐residue analogs were obtained by recombinant expression in Escherichia coli. Besides, we have introduced the second disulfide bridge by analogy with the structure of tachyplesins. As a result, a number of analogs with enhanced activity and cell selectivity were developed. In comparison with arenicin‐1, which acts on cell membranes with low selectivity, the most potent and promising its analog termed ALP1 possessed two‐fold higher antibacterial activity and did not affect viability of mammalian cells at concentration up to 50 μM. The therapeutic index of ALP1 against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria was significantly increased compared with that of arenicin‐1 while the mechanism of action remained the same. Like arenicin‐1, the analog rapidly disrupt membranes of both stationary and exponential phase bacterial cells and effectively kills multidrug‐resistant Gram‐negative bacteria. Furthermore, ALP1 was shown to bind DNA in vitro at a ratio of 1:1 (w/w). The circular dichroism spectra demonstrated that secondary structures of the shortened analogs were similar to that of arenicin‐1 in water solution, but significantly differed in membrane‐mimicking environments. This work shows that a strand length is one of the key parameters affecting cell selectivity of β‐hairpin antimicrobial peptides. Copyright © 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

串联抗菌肽Cecropin B基因在莱茵衣藻中的表达及其抗菌活性分析

为了应对各种抗生素在水产养殖业所带来的副作用,我们在本文中尝试利用微藻对一种抗菌肽进行表达的可行性研究．根据莱茵衣藻核基因组偏爱密码子对抗菌肽Cecropin B基因进行改造,并将4个经改造的Cecropin B基因依次串联起来,中间加上莱茵衣藻的自剪切连接肽序列LWMRFA,人工合成总长度为522 bp的串联Cecropin B基因．将串联Cecropin B基因克隆到含hsp70-RBCS2启动子和RBCS2终止子的pH105载体上,再与携带ble筛选基因的表达框架连接,构建重组表达载体pCB124．采用玻璃珠转化法将载体pCB124导入莱茵衣藻cc-849中,筛选得到能表达抗菌肽Cecropin B的转基因衣藻．经过6个月的保持培养后,进一步对转基因藻细胞提取液进行抗菌活性分析,发现转基因藻具有明显的抑制革兰氏阴性菌(大肠杆菌)和革兰氏阳性菌(枯草芽孢杆菌和溶壁微球菌)生长的特征．这一结果为具有抗菌活性的饵料藻的生产和应用提供了新的途径．     

家蝇新型抗菌肽Muscin的基因克隆、表达模式及抑菌活性

【目的】鉴定家蝇 Musca domestica (Linnaeus)中一种新型抗菌肽(Muscin)基因,并分析其功能。【方法】通过数字基因表达谱和生物信息学分析,在家蝇转录组中筛选得到一条抗菌肽基因,命名为 muscin。以实时荧光定量PCR技术研究该基因的组织分布以及用大肠杆菌Escherichia coli和金黄色葡萄球菌Staphylococcus aureus混合细菌刺激后的表达量变化。并对合成肽Muscin进行抑菌活性检测及溶血率测定。【结果】muscin基因cDNA序列全长379 bp,包含完整的开放阅读框153 bp。推导Muscin多肽序列由50个氨基酸残基组成,N端含有由25个氨基酸残基组成的信号肽。成熟肽中富含疏水性氨基酸残基和带正电荷的氨基酸残基,理论等电点为9.39。基因定量结果显示 muscin 基因在血细胞和脂肪体中表达量最高。通过细菌刺激进行免疫诱导后,幼虫体内该基因的表达水平明显上调,并在6 h达到高峰。抑菌和溶血实验显示c-Muscin对革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌具有广谱抑菌活性,且溶血活性较低。【结论】Muscin是一种新型的广谱抗菌肽,可能参与家蝇抗菌免疫反应,且具有一定药物开发潜质。     

Apolipoprotein A-I attenuates renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), the major protein component of serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL), exhibits its anti-inflammatory activity in inflammatory responses. As renal inflammation plays an important role in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of the kidney, the aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effect of ApoA-I on renal I/R injury in rats and the underlined mechanism. Using rats subjected to renal I/R by occlusion of bilateral renal pedicles, we found that administration of ApoA-I significantly reduced serum creatinine levels, serum TNF-α and IL-1β levels as well as tissue myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, compared with I/R controls. Moreover, ApoA-I treatment suppresses the expression of intercellular adhesion molecules-1 (ICAM-1) and P-selectin on endothelium, thus diminishing neutrophil adherence and the subsequent tissue injury. These results showed that ApoA-I reduced I/R-induced inflammatory responses, decreased renal microscopic damage and improved renal function. It seems likely that ApoA-I protects kidney from I/R injury by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines release and neutrophil infiltration and activation.     

Biomedical applications of nisin

Nisin is a bacteriocin produced by a group of Gram‐positive bacteria that belongs to Lactococcus and Streptococcus species. Nisin is classified as a Type A (I) lantibiotic that is synthesized from mRNA and the translated peptide contains several unusual amino acids due to post‐translational modifications. Over the past few decades, nisin has been used widely as a food biopreservative. Since then, many natural and genetically modified variants of nisin have been identified and studied for their unique antimicrobial properties. Nisin is FDA approved and generally regarded as a safe peptide with recognized potential for clinical use. Over the past two decades the application of nisin has been extended to biomedical fields. Studies have reported that nisin can prevent the growth of drug‐resistant bacterial strains, such as methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococci and Clostridium difficile. Nisin has now been shown to have antimicrobial activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative disease‐associated pathogens. Nisin has been reported to have anti‐biofilm properties and can work synergistically in combination with conventional therapeutic drugs. In addition, like host‐defence peptides, nisin may activate the adaptive immune response and have an immunomodulatory role. Increasing evidence indicates that nisin can influence the growth of tumours and exhibit selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells. Collectively, the application of nisin has advanced beyond its role as a food biopreservative. Thus, this review will describe and compare studies on nisin and provide insight into its future biomedical applications.     

IL-4 and IL-13 exposure during mucociliary differentiation of bronchial epithelial cells increases antimicrobial activity and expression of antimicrobial peptides

The airway epithelium forms a barrier against infection but also produces antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and other inflammatory mediators to activate the immune system. It has been shown that in allergic disorders, Th2 cytokines may hamper the antimicrobial activity of the epithelium. However, the presence of Th2 cytokines also affects the composition of the epithelial layer which may alter its function. Therefore, we investigated whether exposure of human primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) to Th2 cytokines during mucociliary differentiation affects expression of the human cathelicidin antimicrobial protein (hCAP18)/LL-37 and human beta defensins (hBD), and antimicrobial activity.PBEC were cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI) for two weeks in the presence of various concentrations of IL-4 or IL-13. Changes in differentiation and in expression of various AMPs and the antimicrobial proteinase inhibitors secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) and elafin were investigated as well as antimicrobial activity.IL-4 and IL-13 increased mRNA expression of hCAP18/LL-37 and hBD-2. Dot blot analysis also showed an increase in hCAP18/LL-37 protein in apical washes of IL-4-treated ALI cultures, whereas Western Blot analysis showed expression of a protein of approximately 4.5 kDa in basal medium of IL-4-treated cultures. Using sandwich ELISA we found that also hBD-2 in apical washes was increased by both IL-4 and IL-13. SLPI and elafin levels were not affected by IL-4 or IL-13 at the mRNA or protein level. Apical wash obtained from IL-4- and IL-13-treated cultures displayed increased antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to medium-treated cultures. In addition, differentiation in the presence of Th2 cytokines resulted in increased MUC5AC production as has been shown previously.These data suggest that prolonged exposure to Th2 cytokines during mucociliary differentiation contributes to antimicrobial defence by increasing the expression and release of selected antimicrobial peptides and mucus.     

Structure of Circulin B and Implications for Antimicrobial Activity of the Cyclotides

The solution structure of one of the first members of the cyclotide family of macrocyclic peptides to be discovered, circulin B has been determined and compared with that of circulin A and related cyclotides. Cyclotides are mini-proteins derived from plants that have the characteristic features of a head-to-tail cyclised peptide backbone and a knotted arrangement of their three disulfide bonds. First discovered because of their uterotonic or anti-HIV activity, they have also been reported to have activity against a range of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria as well as fungi. The aim of the current study was to develop structure-activity relationships to rationalise this antimicrobial activity. Comparison of cyclotide structures and activities suggests that the presence and location of cationic residues may be a requirement for activity against Gram negative bacteria. Understanding the topological differences associated with the antimicrobial activity of the cyclotides is of significant interest and potentially may be harnessed for pharmaceutical applications.