Antimalarial activity of cecropin antimicrobial peptides derived from Anopheles mosquitoes.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
; 68(7): e0031124, 2024 Jul 09.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38874346
ABSTRACT
The emergence of clinically drug-resistant malaria parasites requires the urgent development of new drugs. Mosquitoes are vectors of multiple pathogens and have developed resistance mechanisms against them, which often involve antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). An-cecB is an AMP of the malaria-transmitting mosquito genus Anopheles, and we herein report its antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7, the artemisinin-resistant strain 803, and the chloroquine-resistant strain Dd2 in vitro. We also demonstrate its anti-parasite activity in vivo, using the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei (ANKA). We show that An-cecB displays potent antimalarial activity and that its mechanism of action may occur through direct killing of the parasite or through interaction with infected red blood cell membranes. Unfortunately, An-cecB was found to be cytotoxic to mammalian cells and had poor antimalarial activity in vivo. However, its truncated peptide An-cecB-1 retained most of its antimalarial activity and avoided its cytotoxicity in vitro. An-cecB-1 also showed better antimalarial activity in vivo. Mosquito-derived AMPs may provide new ideas for the development of antimalarial drugs against drug-resistant parasites, and An-cecB has potential use as a template for antimalarial peptides.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Plasmodium berghei
/
Plasmodium falciparum
/
Anopheles
/
Antipaludiques
Limites:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
Langue:
En
Journal:
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Chine