BIOACTIVE PEPTIDES FROM BRAZILIAN FROG SPECIES INCLUDED IN THE GENERA Leptodactylus, Hyla and Odontophrynus

Matsushita, R.H.(1), Nascimento, A.C.C.(1), Sena, G.(1), Zanotta, L.C.(1), Sousa, M.V.(2), Schwartz, C.A.(1), Schwartz, E.F.(1), Sebben, A.(1), Fontes, W.(2), and Castro, M.S.(1,2).

(1)Laboratório de Toxinologia, Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, IB, Universidade de Brasília; (2)Laboratório de Bioquímica e Química de Proteínas - Centro Brasileiro de Serviços e Pesquisas em Proteínas, Departamento de Biologia Celular, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brasil.

The emergence of multi-drug resistant microorganims has stimulated a search for new antibiotic compounds with clinical applications. Over the past several decades numerous biologically active components (biogenic amines, alkaloids, steroids, peptides and proteins) have been isolated from anurans skin secretions. These secretions contain a large array of bioactive peptides, including antimicrobial cationic peptides. Nowadays many potent antimicrobial peptides have been isolated from several species and these peptides exhibited lytic activity against bacteria, protozoa and yeasts, as well as against filamentous fungi. Recently it was also demonstrated that amphibian antimicrobial peptides inactivate frog virus 3, playing a role in maintaining amphibian health. Different families of peptides have been described according to their biological activities, structural features and genomic organization. Some examples include: bombininsand type H bombinins isolated from Bombina species; magaininsfrom Xenopus laevis; dermaseptinsisolated from Phyllomedusa genus; brevinins from the Japanese frog Rana porsabrevipoda; ranateurinsfrom Rana catesbeiana; temporins isolated from Rana temporaria and caerinsand caeridins from the Australian genus Litoria. Very little information is available about the purification and characterization of bioactive peptides isolated from amphibian species of South America. In the present study we described the structural and biological characterization of bioactive peptides isolated from the skin secretions of brazilianfrog species, included in the genera Hyla, Leptodactylus and Odontoprhynus.

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

Castro, M.S., Laboratório de Toxinologia, Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, 70910-900, DF, Brasil. Email: mscastro@unb.br