Identification and characterization of a novel antimicrobial protein from the housefly Musca domestica.

Antimicrobial peptides/proteins are immune-related molecules that are widely distributed in bacteria, fungi, plants, invertebrates and higher animals. They have exhibited great potential to be developed into antimicrobial drugs. The housefly, Musca domestica, lives in a highly contaminated environment and has adapted a robust immune system against various pathogens. As an effort to search for new antimicrobial molecules in the housefly, we investigated the function of an uncharacterized gene firstly by confirming that its expression was induced by infection in M. domestica. The corresponding protein was then shown to have potent antimicrobial activity. Scanning Electron Microscopy data showed that treatment of C. albicans cells with the protein caused cell size decreasing and cell elongation. The results here suggest the protein a novel class of antimicrobial protein and provide new insights into the immunological mechanisms by which M. domestica combats invading C. albicans.

A Cecropin-4 Derived Peptide C18 Inhibits Candida albicans by Disturbing Mitochondrial Function.

Global burden of fungal infections and related health risk has accelerated at an incredible pace, and multidrug resistance emergency aggravates the need for the development of new effective strategies. Candida albicans is clinically the most ubiquitous pathogenic fungus that leads to high incidence and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), in this context, represent promising alternatives having potential to be exploited for improving human health. In our previous studies, a Cecropin-4-derived peptide named C18 was found to possess a broader antibacterial spectrum after modification and exhibit significant antifungal activity against C. albicans. In this study, C18 shows antifungal activity against C. albicans or non-albicans Candida species with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at 4∼32 µg/ml, and clinical isolates of fluconazole (FLZ)-resistance C. tropicalis were highly susceptible to C18 with MIC value of 8 or 16 µg/ml. Additionally, C18 is superior to FLZ for killing planktonic C. albicans from inhibitory and killing kinetic curves. Moreover, C18 could attenuate the virulence of C. albicans, which includes damaging the cell structure, retarding hyphae transition, and inhibiting biofilm formation. Intriguingly, in the Galleria mellonella model with C. albicans infection, C18 could improve the survival rate of G. mellonella larvae to 70% and reduce C. albicans load from 5.01 × 107 to 5.62 × 104 CFU. For mechanistic action of C18, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cytosolic Ca2 + increased in the presence of C18, which is closely associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Meanwhile, mitochondrial membrane potential (△Ψm) loss and ATP depletion of C. albicans occurred with the treatment of C18. We hypothesized that C18 might inhibit C. albicans via triggering mitochondrial dysfunction driven by ROS generation and Ca2 + accumulation. Our observation provides a basis for future research to explore the antifungal strategies and presents C18 as an attractive therapeutic candidate to be developed to treat candidiasis.

Characterization and antioxidant activities of extracellular and intracellular polysaccharides from Fomitopsis pinicola.

Fomitopsis pinicola (F. pinicola) is a kind of medicinal fungi, and few studies has been carried out on F. pinicola polysaccharides from liquid submerged cultivation. The characterization and antioxidant activities of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) and intracellular polysaccharide (IPS) isolated from F. pinicola were investigated. The results showed that the molecular weight of EPS was 2.30×10(4)Da, and EPS was composed of mannose, rhamnose, xylose and galactose with the molar ratio of 0.1:1.0:0.3:0.5. The molecular weight of IPS was 4.07×10(5)Da, and the monosaccharide compositions included glucose, mannose, rhamnose, xylose and galactose with the molar ratio of 1.0:0.9:0.9:0.8:1.1. Antioxidant activities of both EPS and IPS including in vitro scavenging activities on 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals, cellular protective effects on yeast cells from ultraviolet (UV) radiation and H2O2 oxidative damage were tested. Both EPS and IPS showed antioxidant activities in a dose dependent manner, and IPS had higher antioxidant activity than EPS. So EPS and IPS could be potential novel antioxidants for functional food.