Purification of an insect defensin from the mosquito, Aedes aegypti.
Using a new, sensitive assay of bacterial growth inhibition, inducible antibacterial activity has been identified in the haemolymph of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti following inoculation with bacteria or with microfilariae of the filarial nematode Brugia pahangi, but not after inoculation with sterile culture medium. A lower level of antibacterial activity has also been observed in untreated individual mosquitoes. Following bacterial inoculation, a basic, inducible antibacterial peptide has been detected using native PAGE at pH 4, which corresponds with a 4.5 kDa peptide detected by tricine SDS-PAGE followed by silver staining. A peptide has been purified from immune haemolymph by ultrafiltration, followed by reversed-phase HPLC, yielding a single major peak with antibacterial activity. Partial amino acid sequence analysis of this fraction has revealed substantial homology with insect defensins. The data are consistent with the peptide being another member of this family, and we propose the name Aedes aegypti defensin.
Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, Biological Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, U.K.
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D000330:Aedes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000494:pharmacology; D001770:Blood Bactericidal Activity / Q000276:immunology*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017179:Brugia pahangi / Q000502:physiology; D023082:Defensins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000737:chemistry*; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009113:Muramidase / Q000494:pharmacology; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis
D000596:Amino Acids; D000962:Antimalarials; D001798:Blood Proteins; D023082:Defensins; D007301:Insect Hormones; D019476:Insect Proteins; D010455:Peptides; C031162:cecropin B protein, Insecta; D009113:Muramidase