title: Purification and characterization of novel antimicrobial peptides from the skin secretion of Hylarana guentheri.
abstract: Linear, amphipathic and cationic antimicrobial peptides have been previously reported from a wide range of amphibian species especially frogs of the genus Rana. Such antimicrobial peptides are attracting increasing attention in pharmacological applications because they mainly act by permeabilizing and disrupting the target cell or virion membranes with a low degree of resistance. The Guenther's frog, Hylarana guentheri, is a Chinese frog of the genus Rana that is widely distributed in Southern China. It is commonly the dominant amphibian species even where the amphibian population is declining. In this study, we describe the isolation, purification, structural and biological characterization of five novel peptides from H. guentheri frog skin secretions that possess antimicrobial activity, including brevinin-2GHa, brevinin-2GHb, brevinin-2GHc, temporin-GH and a novel antimicrobial peptide named guentherin. The cDNAs encoding two novel members of the brevinin-2 family, brevinin-2GHb and brevinin-2GHc were also subsequently cloned and sequenced.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Molecular Biosciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Jianwu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McClean
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Pingfan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bjourson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029845:Amphibian Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D011898:Ranidae; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029845:Amphibian Proteins; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D011498:Protein Precursors; C078414:brevinin-2, Rana