2. Academic Validation
  3. Blap-6, a Novel Antifungal Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera against Cryptococcus neoformans

Blap-6, a Novel Antifungal Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera against Cryptococcus neoformans

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 14;25(10):5336. doi: 10.3390/ijms25105336.
La-Mei Zhang 1 2,  Sheng-Wen Zhou 3 4,  Xiao-Shan Huang 3 4,  Yi-Fan Chen 3 4,  James Mwangi 3 4,  Ya-Qun Fang 3,  Ting Du 1 2,  Min Zhao 1 2,  Lei Shi 1 2,  Qiu-Min Lu 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Highland Forest Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming 650224, China.
  • 2 Key Laboratory of Breeding and Utilization of Resource Insects, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Kunming 650224, China.
  • 3 Engineering Laboratory of Peptides of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioactive Peptides of Yunnan Province, KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, National Resource Center for Non-Human Primates, National Research Facility for Phenotypic & Genetic Analysis of Model Animals (Primate Facility), Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution & Animal Models, Sino-African Joint Research Center, and New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Kunming Institute of Zoology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.17 Longxin Road, Kunming 650201, China.
  • 4 Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
PMID: 38791374 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105336
Abstract

Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is a pathogenic fungus that can cause life-threatening meningitis, particularly in individuals with compromised immune systems. The current standard treatment involves the combination of amphotericin B and azole drugs, but this regimen often leads to inevitable toxicity in patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new Antifungal drugs with improved safety profiles. We screened Antimicrobial Peptides from the hemolymph transcriptome of Blaps rhynchopetera (B. rhynchopetera), a folk Chinese medicine. We found an antimicrobial peptide named blap-6 that exhibited potent activity against bacteria and fungi. Blap-6 is composed of 17 Amino acids (KRCRFRIYRWGFPRRRF), and it has excellent Antifungal activity against C. neoformans, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.81 μM. Blap-6 exhibits strong Antifungal kinetic characteristics. Mechanistic studies revealed that blap-6 exerts its Antifungal activity by penetrating and disrupting the integrity of the Fungal cell membrane. In addition to its direct Antifungal effect, blap-6 showed strong biofilm inhibition and scavenging activity. Notably, the peptide exhibited low hemolytic and cytotoxicity to human cells and may be a potential candidate antimicrobial drug for fungal Infection caused by C. neoformans.

Keywords

Blaps rhynchopetera; Cryptococcus neoformans; antimicrobial peptide; blap-6.

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