Antiviral, Immunomodulatory, and Free Radical Scavenging Activities of a Protein-Enriched Fraction from the Larvae of the Housefly,Musca domestica

Abstract

In our previous study, protein-enriched fraction (PEF) that was isolated from the larvae of the housefly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), showed excellent hepatoprotective activity as well as the potential for clinical application in therapy for liver diseases. In this study, antiviral, immunomodulatory, and free radical scavenging activities of PEF were evaluated. The antiviral results demonstrated that PEF inhibited the infection of avian influenza virus H9N2 and had a virucidal effect against the multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus of the alfalfa looper, Autographa californica Speyer (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in vitro. The mortality of silkworm larve in a PEF treatment group decreased significantly compared with a negative control. PEF showed excellent scavenging activity for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and superoxide anion radicals, which were similar to those of ascorbic acid. The imunomodulatory results suggested that PEF could effectively improve immune function in experimental mice. Our results indicated that PEF could possibly be used for the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases caused by avian influenza virus infection. In addition, PEF with virucidal activity against insect viruses might provide useful for the development of antimicrobial breeding technology for economically important insects. As a natural product from insects, PEF could be a potential source for the discovery of potent antioxidant and immunomodulatory agents.

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“…However, the housefly itself stays uninfected, mainly because of its powerful congenital immune system. [10][11][12] Reportedly, house flies can produce attacin, cecropin, defensin, diptericin, and other AMP molecules to resist the invasion of pathogens. 13 These biologically active proteins and peptides are considered potential alternatives to the conventional antibiotics.…”

Immunological adjuvant effect of the peptide fraction from the larvae of Musca domestica

“…Among them, antimicrobial peptides such as cecropin, defensin attacin, and MDpep9 have been paid an extensive attention [ 6 – 8 ]. Antimicrobial peptides of M. domestica larvae have been shown to possess the antioxidant [ 9 ], antitumor [ 10 , 11 ], anti-inflammatory [ 12 ], anti-atherosclerosis [ 13 ], hepatoprotective [ 14 ], antiviral and immunomodulatory [ 15 ] activities.…”

“…It was reported that the protein-enriched fraction of Musca domestica larvae could promote the phagocytic function of macrophages, 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene-induced delayed type hypersensitivity reaction, proliferation of lymphocytes, and natural killer cell activity in naïve mice [ 15 ]. In our previou works, the peptide fraction from Musca domestica larvae (MDPF) was found to improve both specific and non-specific cellular and humoral immune response in tumor-bearing mice, and its antitumor activity might be achieved by switching-on of Th1-based protective cell-mediated immunity [ 16 ].…”

Image recognition of automatic evisceration of Cherry Valley ducks and biological activities of protein extracts isolated from the duck meat

“…The DPPH radical scavenging effect of the protein extracts from the Cherry Valley ducks was examined according to the method of Ai, Wang, Zhang, Zhang, and Lei (). Briefly, a 5.0 mL solution of protein extracts at different concentrations (0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/mL) were added into 5.0 mL of 60 μM DPPH solution and, then, the reaction mixture was shaken well and incubated for 30 min without light.…”

“…2.12 | Natural killer (NK) cells activity assay NK cell activity was measured according to the method of Ai et al (2013) and Zhao et al (2017). The splenic lymphocytes were prepared as above and suspended in complete RPMI-1640 medium (1.0 3 10 6 / mL).…”