On the silver jubilee of crustacean antimicrobial peptides

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are widely distributed effector molecules that provide a first line of defence for organisms that lack adaptive immunity, such as crustaceans.They also represent bioactive molecules with great potential as therapeutic agents in aquaculture and biomedicine. Over the last years, an intensive research effort has been devoted to the identification and characterisation of antimicrobials in crustaceans resulting in the recognition of twelve gene-encoded AMP families to date. In addition to classical linear and multi-domain AMPs, crustaceans also rely on the production of unconventional ones, such as lysozymes and AMPs encrypted in large proteins carrying nonimmune functions. Besides their molecular and functional diversity, crustaceans have a particular AMP repertoire usually composed of diverse multigene families of taxonomically restricted peptides/polypeptides. In fact, only a few families of AMPs are shared between crustaceans and their close arthropod relatives. This review celebrates the silver jubilee of the discovery of the first crustacean AMPs and presents an updated and comprehensive overview in terms of structure, diversity and biological properties, emphasising their role in immune responses and in host-microbe interactions. We also discuss the main progress achieved so far and major challenges remaining.

Single-Cell Sequencing Reveals Types of Hepatopancreatic Cells and Haemocytes in Black Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and Their Molecular Responses to Ammonia Stress

“…AMPs and melanisation are the two most powerful shrimp humoral responses. Intensive studies have demonstrated a close link between the proPO activation cascade and the AMP synthesis pathway via pattern recognition protein crosstalk in shrimp, which enables the innate immune system to execute an effective immune response ( 22 , 23 ). Molecular processes such as peptidase activity and peptidase inhibitor activity are significantly enriched in Hem4, molecular processes related to cellular activities, such as chromosome organization and DNA replication are enriched in Hem6; cytoskeleton organization and apoptosis are enriched in Hem7.…”

“…Monocle2 analysis showed that the expression levels of AMPs and GSH-Px showed different or even opposite trends at the developmental endpoints of haemocytes with different fates. In several invertebrates, AMPs are used as indicator genes for cell classification and cell state ( 4 , 22 ). This finding may also suggest that AMPs and GSH-Px play important roles in cell differentiation and functional plasticity of shrimp.…”

Marine Arthropods as a Source of Antimicrobial Peptides

“…The relevance of bioactive peptides is reflected in several reviews on AMPs in mammals [ 19 ], amphibians [ 20 ], fishes [ 21 ], plants [ 22 ], insects [ 23 ], echinoderms [ 24 ], marine arthropods [ 16 , 25 , 26 ], and penaeid shrimps [ 27 , 28 ]. Remarkable research has been conducted in this area [ 29 ]; therefore, our review emphasizes the synthetic chemistry of AMPs and their tentative medicinal applications. We describe recent advances regarding the molecular analysis of crustacean AMPs, concentrating on the antimicrobial mechanisms of these molecules against most pathogens in aquatic arthropods.…”

Characterization of the Dual Functions of LvCrustinVII from Litopenaeus vannamei as Antimicrobial Peptide and Opsonin

“…AMPs produced by the innate immunity in crustaceans present some novel drug properties. As reviewed by Matos and Rosa [ 17 ], ALF-derived peptides are diverse bioactive molecules, modulating inflammatory responses and displaying activity against human parasites, viruses and tumors. Some PENs can behave as cytokines attracting hemocytes towards sites of injury and bind to chitin, suggesting a role in wound healing.…”