The structure of viral cathepsin from Bombyx mori Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus as a target against grasserie: docking and molecular dynamics simulations.

The viral cathepsin from Bombyx mori Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (BmNPV-Cath) is a broad-spectrum protease that participates in the horizontal transmission of this virus in silkworm by facilitating solubilization of the integument of infected caterpillars. When a B. mori farm is attacked by BmNPV, there are significant sericultural losses because no drugs or therapies are available. In this work, the structure of viral cathepsin BmNPV-Cath was used as a target for virtual screening simulations, aiming to identify potential molecules that could be used to treat the infection. Virtual screening of the Natural Products library from the Zinc Database selected four molecules. Theoretical calculations of ΔGbinding by the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface analysis (MM-PBSA) method indicated that the molecule Zinc12888007 (Bm5) would have high affinity for the enzyme. The in vivo infection models of B. mori caterpillars with BmNPV showed that treatment with a dose of 100 µg Bm5 dissolved in Pluronic-F127 0.02% was able to reduce the mortality of caterpillars in 22.6%, however, it did not impede the liquefaction of dead bodies. Our results suggest a role of BmNPV-Cath in generating a pool of amino acids necessary for viral replication and indicate a mechanism to be exploited in the search for treatments for grasserie disease of the silkworm.

Expression and purification of cyto-insectotoxin (Cit1a) using silkworm larvae targeting for an antimicrobial therapeutic agent.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), both synthetic and from natural sources, have raised interest recently as potential alternatives to antibiotics. Cyto-insectotoxin (Cit1a) is a 69-amino-acid antimicrobial peptide isolated from the venom of the central Asian spider Lachesana tarabaevi. The synthetic gene Cit1a fused with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene was expressed as the EGFP-Cit1a fusion protein using a cysteine protease-deleted Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV-CP(-)) bacmid in silkworm larva and pupa. The antimicrobial effect of the purified protein was assayed using disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The minimum inhibitory concentration of EGFP-Cit1a was also measured against several bacterial strains and showed similar antimicrobial activity to that of the synthetic Cit1a reported earlier. The EGFP-Cit1a fusion protein showed antibiotic activity toward gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria at the micromolar concentration level. These results show that active Cit1a can be produced and purified in silkworm, although this peptide is insecticidal. This study demonstrates the potential of active Cit1a purified from silkworms to use as an antimicrobial agent.