title: Evaluating antioxidative activities of amino acid substitutions on mastoparan-B.
abstract: Mastoparan-B is a peptide toxin isolated from the venom of Vespa basalis, the most dangerous hornet found in Taiwan. This study is aimed to evaluate the antioxidative activities of several amino acid substitutions on MP-B, and examined the influences of mast cell degranulation and hemolytic activities in parallel with antioxidative activities. The correlations between the biological function and amino acid sequence were assessed. Our study shows original MP-B is a valuable antioxidant at low concentration in competing with nitric-oxide for oxygen molecules and possesses good antioxidative enzyme activities resembled to superoxidase dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. And there are no predominant rates of mast cell degranulation and hemolytic effects in such condition. With proper substitutions, the reducing power, DPPH scavenging activity and glutathione reductase-like enzyme activity of MP-B can increase clearly. The results demonstrate that MP-B analogs are very potential to be applicable antioxidants for other antioxidative usages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Mars J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wen-Yuh
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kuang-Hui
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Wu-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015550:Cell Degranulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013624:Taiwan; D014862:Wasp Venoms / Q000737:chemistry*; D014863:Wasps / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D014862:Wasp Venoms; C081223:mastoparan B