title: Novel Peptides from Skins of Amphibians Showed Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Activities.
abstract: Peptide agents are often considered as potential biomaterials for developing new drugs that can overcome the rising resistance of pathogenic micro-organisms to classic antibiotic treatments. One key source of peptide agents is amphibian skin, as they provide a great deal of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide (AMP) templates awaiting further exploitation and utilization. In this study, 12 novel AMPs from the skins of 3 ranid frogs, Rana limnocharis, R. exilispinosa, and Amolops afghanus, were identified using a 5' PCR primer. A total of 11 AMPs exhibited similarities with currently known AMP families, including brevinin-1, brevinin-2, esculentin-1, and nigrocin, besides, one AMP, named as Limnochariin, represented a novel AMP family. All 12 AMPs contain a C-terminus cyclic motif and most of them show obvious antimicrobial activities against 18 standard and clinically isolated strains of bacteria, including 4 Gram-positive bacteria, 11 Gram-negative bacteria, and 3 fungus. These findings provide helpful insight that will be useful in the design of anti-infective peptide agents.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chemistry in Ethnic Medicine Resource, State Ethnic Affairs Commission & Ministry of Education, School of Ethnic Medicine, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Hui
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Xinwang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000663:Amphibians; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010455:Peptides
keywords: amphibian; antimicrobial peptides; skins