INVESTIGADORES
PEREZ Luis Orlando
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Functional and morphological assessment of glands of patagonian frogs: molecular characterization of prepropeptides and histology of the skin of Odontophrynus occidentalis and Pleurodema somuncurense
Autor/es:
NATALIA L. CANCELARICH; PÉREZ, LUIS ORLANDO; BASSO, NÉSTOR GUILLERMO; MARANI, MARIELA MIRTA
Lugar:
Buenos Aires
Reunión:
Congreso; Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2017
Resumen:
Antimicrobial peptides present in amphibian skin are importantfunctional molecules of the innate immune system and play defensiveroles against external risk factors. The emergence of multiplestrains of pathogenic bacteria resistant to conventional antibioticshas become a serious problem to public health, requiring the searchof novel therapeutic molecules. We identified and characterizedAMPs in the skin of adult specimens of P. somuncurense (Pso) andO. occidentalis (Ooc). RNA from cephalic-scapular and dorsal skinregions was isolated and their cDNA was obtained. These cDNAwere linked to the pCR?4-TOPO vector to transform E.coli DH5αinto competent cells. We analyzed and sequenced positive clones,obtaining 11 prepropeptides that codified mature peptides withpromising physicochemical features and novel structures. Severalpresented positive net charge, α-helix structure predicted by 3Dsoftware and amphipatic arrangement of the α-helix, which promotetheir mechanisms of action. Two peptides were similar to the thaulinfamily peptides, previously described by our group in the skin ofthe Patagonian frog Pleurodema thaul, while the remaining showed32-53% percent of similarity when compared with other amphibianAMPs. The peptide synthesis in progress aims at characterizingand evaluating their antimicrobial, hemolytic and cytotoxic activity.Histological analysis of Ooc skin revealed the presence of ordinarymucous glands (OMG) and ordinary serous glands (OSG) in thesix studied body regions. Both types of glands shared structuraltraits common in anurans. OMGs were homogeneously distributed,whereas OSGs showed an heterogeneous distribution and weremore numerous in the scapular region. The discovery of these peptidesis a promising result in the search of new antimicrobials andhighlights the potential of Patagonian species as a novel source of AMPs