Isolation and characterization of a novel insect defensin from Rhodnius prolixus, a vector of Chagas disease
| Autor: | R. Ursic, L. Lopez, Marta Wolff, Carl Lowenberger, Gracia Morales |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Předmět: |
Antimicrobial peptides
Molecular Sequence Data Biochemistry Polymerase Chain Reaction Microbiology Defensins Immune system Transcription (biology) Hemolymph Sequence Homology Nucleic Acid Animals Chagas Disease Amino Acid Sequence Rhodnius prolixus Molecular Biology Defensin Conserved Sequence Phylogeny Innate immune system biology Base Sequence Sequence Homology Amino Acid fungi biology.organism_classification Insect Vectors Beta defensin Insect Science Rhodnius Immunology Insect Proteins Sequence Alignment |
| Zdroj: | Insect biochemistry and molecular biology. 33(4) |
| ISSN: | 0965-1748 |
| Popis: | An antimicrobial peptide belonging to the defensin family of small cationic peptides associated with innate immunity in insects was isolated from the hemolymph of Rhodnius prolixus, a vector of Chagas disease. This peptide, designated R. prolixus defensin A, was purified and sequenced. The active peptide contains 43 residues and aligns well with other insect defensins. However the pre-pro region of the sequence has little shared identity with other insect defensins. We have identified 3 isoforms of R. prolixus defensin from cDNA clones obtained from RNA isolated from the whole bodies of immune activated insects. Northern analysis and Real-Time Quantitative PCR indicate that there is a very low baseline transcription of this peptide in naive insects, and that transcription increases significantly in the fat body of immune activated insects. In addition there is a delayed induction of transcription of this peptide in the intestine 24 h post activation suggesting that the midgut/intestine of this species is active in the immune response against pathogens. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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