Antimicrobial Activity of Molluscan Hemocyanins from Helix and Rapana Snails.
For the first time the antimicrobial activities of hemocyanins from the molluscs Rapana venosa (RvH) and Helix aspersa (HaH) have been tested. From the hemolymph of the garden snail H. aspersa one structural subunit (βc-HaH ) and eight functional units (FUs, βc-HaH-a to βc-HaH-h) were isolated, and their N-terminal sequences and molecular weights, ranging between 45 and 65 kDa, determined. The antimicrobial test of the hemocyanins against different bacteria showed that only two FUs from Rapana, RvH1-b and RvH1-e, exhibit a low inhibition effect against Staphylococcus aureus. In contrast and surprisingly, the structural subunit βc-HaH of H. aspersa not only shows strong antimicrobial activities against S. aureus and the likewise Gram-positive Streptococcus epidermidis, but also against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. We suggest that this subunit therefore has the potential to become a substitute for the commonly used antibiotics against which bacterial resistance has gradually been developed.
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, G. Bonchev 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. pda54@abv.bg.
Pavlina
P
Dolashka
Aleksander
A
Dolashki
Jozef
J
Van Beeumen
Matthias
M
Floetenmeyer
Lyudmila
L
Velkova
Stefan
S
Stevanovic
Wolfgang
W
Voelter
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006372:Helix, Snails / Q000737:chemistry*; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000187:drug effects
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D006433:Hemocyanins