蜂毒溶血肽的研究进展

蜂毒溶血肽 (melittin)是蜜蜂毒液的主要组分 ,由 2 6个氨基酸残基组成 ,具有两亲性和种的特异性。它的cDNA已经被克隆 ,并以融合蛋白的形式在大肠杆菌Escherichiacoli中进行表达。蜂毒溶血肽的作用机制主要包括脂酶的激活 ,产生第二信使 ,调节一些酶及离子通道 ;Ca2 +的水平调节 ,影响骨骼肌和心肌的收缩 ;作为脂类代谢的探针。由于蜂毒溶血肽结构简单 ,且抑制病毒复制 ,因此可将其用于癌症的基因治疗及爱滋病的防治。此外 ,蜂毒溶血肽还可作为对一些作用机理进行研究的模型肽。

Advance in melittin research.

Melittin, as the major protein component of bee venom, is composed of 26 animo acids. It has amphipathic and species-specific characters. Melittin's cDNA has been cloned, and expressed as a part of the fused protein in Escherichia coli. Its action mechanism includes several aspects as follows. Firstly, melittin can activate cellular lipases, and their products have been recognized as the second messenger that can alter the function of a number of enzyme and ion channels. Secondly, melittin can increase Ca 2+ in myoplasm, and Ca 2+ level is an important signal for the contracture of muscles. Finally, melittin may be a membrane-perturbing probe of lipid metabolism. Because of its simple structure and suppressing virus replication, melittin is useful for cancer gene therapy and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) inhibition. Melittin, as a model peptide, also can be used in studies on action mechanism.