Abstract
Anionic antimicrobial peptides (AAMPs) with net charges ranging from -1 to -8 have been identified in frogs, toads, newts and salamanders across Africa, South America and China. Most of these peptides show antibacterial activity and a number of them are multifunctional, variously showing antifungal activity, anticancer action, neuropeptide function and the ability to potentiate conventional antibiotics. Antimicrobial mechanisms proposed for these AAMPs, include toroidal pore formation and the Shai-Huang-Matsazuki model of membrane interaction along with pH dependent amyloidogenesis and membranolysis via tilted peptide formation. The potential for therapeutic and biotechnical application of these AAMPs has been demonstrated, including the development of amyloid-based nanomaterials and antiviral agents. It is concluded that amphibian AAMPs represent an untapped potential source of biologically active agents and merit far greater research interest.
Highlights
Over the centuries, skin extracts from frogs and toads have been used as traditional medicine in many cultures ranging from that of ancient Egypt to China [1]
Here, current research into amphibian Anionic antimicrobial peptides (AAMPs) has been reviewed, which shows that the majority of these peptides have been identified in newts, frogs and toads (Table 2)
The diversity of these amphibians taken with the fact that they are resident across wide geographical areas on a number of continents would seem to reinforce the view that AAMPs are important components of innate immune systems [2629]
Summary
Skin extracts from frogs and toads have been used as traditional medicine in many cultures ranging from that of ancient Egypt to China [1]. It has been proposed that these observations may help explain the fact that these peptides have maintained their efficacy over evolutionary time and led to the generally held view that microbial resistance to AMPs is unlikely to approach that shown by these organisms to conventional antibiotics [15,16] This gives AMPs a major medical advantage over other antimicrobials and makes them attractive propositions to combat the global problem of infectious diseases due to drug resistant microbial pathogens [17,18]. These amphibians have been identified across three continents and here, we review the AAMPs produced by these organisms in relation to their antimicrobial activity and other biological roles (Table 4)
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