Abstract
Amphibians have developed successful defensive strategies for combating predators and invasive microorganisms encountered in their broad range of environments, which involve secretion of complex cocktails of noxious, toxic and diverse bioactive molecules from the skins. In recent years, amphibian skin secretions have been considered as an extraordinary warehouse for the discovery of therapeutic medicines. In this study, through bioactivity screening of the Hylarana latouchii skin secretion-derived fractions, a novel peptide belonging to ranatensin subfamily (ranatensin-HLa) was discovered, and structurally and pharmacologically-characterised. It consists of 15 amino acid residues, pGlu-NGDRAPQWAVGHFM-NH2, and its synthetic replicate was found to exhibit pharmacological activities on increasing the contraction of the in vitro rat bladder and uterus smooth muscles. Corresponding characteristic sigmoidal dose-response curves with EC50 values of 7.1 nM and 5.5 nM were produced, respectively, in bladder and uterus. Moreover, the precursor of ranatensin-HLa showed a high degree of similarity to those of bombesin-like peptides from Odorrana grahami and Odorrana schmackeri. Hylarana latouchii skin continues to serve as a storehouse with diverse lead compounds for the development of therapeutically effective medicines.
Highlights
The word “amphibian”, amphi meaning both and bios meaning life, tells us much about the amphibian lifestyle—a double life
Amphibian skin is characterised by numerous dispersed mucous glands which excrete mucus continually to maintain the moisture of skin, and granular glands that discharge extremely toxic components to ward off predators and pathologic microorganisms [5,6]
Following chromatographic fractionation of H. latouchii skin secretion, the bioactivity screening of sequential fractions resulted in the authentication of a component in fraction # 93 possessing considerable myoactivities towards rat urinary bladder and uterus
Summary
The word “amphibian”, amphi meaning both and bios meaning life, tells us much about the amphibian lifestyle—a double life. Amphibians are a class of animals that many of them have a biphasic lifestyle, undergoing shift from strictly aquatic larvae to more terrestrial adults. They are widespread on the majority of continents apart from Antarctica [1,2]. There are 7975 species of amphibians in total within the Class Amphibia, with 88% of anurans (frogs and toads) [3]. Amphibians have gone through drastic environmental changes, in which. Amphibian skin is characterised by numerous dispersed mucous glands which excrete mucus continually to maintain the moisture of skin, and granular glands that discharge extremely toxic components to ward off predators and pathologic microorganisms [5,6]
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