Antimicrobial peptides from amphibian skin: an expanding scenario: Commentary

Antimicrobial peptides from amphibians

“…This is the so-called 'affinity driven molecular transfer', which means drugs could be bind to peptides with high affinity and sent directly to the designated location where the effects take place. Obviously, the advantages of these applications are rapid and receptor-independent (52).…”

Anuran Amphibians: A Huge and Threatened Factory of a Variety of Active Peptides with Potential Nanobiotechnological Applications in the Face of Amphibian Decline

“…However, the biological activity of several peptides from anuran skin remains unknown. The antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) compose the innate immunity system of anurans against microbial invasion (Giuliani et al, 2008;Radek & Gallo, 2007;Zasloff, 2002) effective against multidrug resistant strains of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and virus including cancer, and provide instructive lessons for the development of new and more efficient nanotechnological-based therapies for infectious and degenerative diseases treatment (Calderon et al, 2011;Rinaldi, 2002). Many AMPs possess a wide range of activity showing effectiveness against diverse microorganism strains.…”

“…The lack of therapeutic options against these pathogens has stimulated research into new bioactive molecules from the biodiversity as a source of more efficient (low toxicity and major potency) mechanisms for infection control (Calderon et al, 2009;Vaara, 2009). The interest in the development of new forms of anti-infective agents such as those based on AMPs from anuran skin as therapeutic agents has been increased (Rinaldi, 2002;Xiao et al, 2011). Thus, they are likely to be active against pathogens and even those that are resistant to conventional drugs.…”

Regulation of theRana sylvaticabrevinin-1SY antimicrobial peptide during development and in dorsal and ventral skin in response to freezing, anoxia, and dehydration

“…Synthesized and stored within the dermal granular glands of the frog's skin, and secreted onto the skin following injury or sympathetic nervous system stimulation (Rollins-Smith and Conlon, 2005), antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) act as effector molecules of the innate immune system. AMPs are small (~10-50 amino acids), amphipathic, positively charged peptides that bind preferentially to microbial membranes (Rinaldi, 2002 ). Unlike other ranids, the skin of the adult wood frog Rana sylvatica LeConte appears to produce a single AMP, the novel brevinin-1SY (Matutte et al, 2000).…”