RESUMO
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also known as host defense peptides, are small and mostly polycationic molecules that form part of the innate immune response. There are currently more than 3000 experimentally reported AMPs. Particularly in frogs, the temporin family has been discovered as potential AMPs. The aim of this work is to review the latest publications about this class of peptides, discuss their properties, and present an update of the last studies and new discoveries in the field. More than 130 temporins have been identified in this family. The most studied temporins are temporin A (TA), temporin B (TB), and temporin L (TL). These peptides showed antimicrobial activity against gram-negative, gram-positive bacteria and fungi. Since the discovery of temporins in 1996, several groups of researchers isolated different peptides from various species of frogs that were included as members of this family. Although antimicrobial activity of many temporins has not been analyzed yet, most of them showed antimicrobial and antifungal activities. A combination of nanotechnology and AMPs for temporins in different antimicrobial treatments could be a promising alternative for resistant pathogens. These studies demonstrate that, even with the advancement in scientific research on the composition and antimicrobial activity of temporins, further studies are necessary to wholly understand their components and mechanisms of action.
Assuntos
Anti-Infecciosos/farmacologia , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/farmacologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Antibacterianos/química , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Anti-Infecciosos/química , Antifúngicos/química , Antifúngicos/farmacologia , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos/química , Anuros , HumanosRESUMO
Brugmansia candida (syn. Datura candida) is a South American native plant that produces tropane alkaloids. Hyoscyamine, 6ß-hydroxyhyoscyamine (anisodamine), and scopolamine are the most important ones due to their anticholinergic activity. These bioactive compounds have been historically and widely applied in medicine and their demand is continuous. Their chemical synthesis is costly and complex, and thereby, these alkaloids are industrially produced from natural producer plants. The production of these secondary metabolites by plant in vitro cultures such as hairy roots presents certain advantages over the natural source and chemical synthesis. It is well known that hairy roots produced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes infection are fast-growing cultures, genetically stable and able to grow in hormone-free media. Additionally, recent progress achieved in the scaling up of hairy root cultures makes this technology an attractive tool for industrial processes. This chapter is focused on the methods for the induction and establishment of B. candida hairy roots. In addition, the scaling up of hairy root cultures in bioreactors and tropane alkaloid analysis is discussed.
Assuntos
Biotecnologia/métodos , Datura/fisiologia , Raízes de Plantas/fisiologia , Tropanos/metabolismo , Agrobacterium/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Reatores Biológicos , Biotecnologia/instrumentação , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão/métodos , Técnicas de Cultura/instrumentação , Técnicas de Cultura/métodos , DNA de Plantas/genética , DNA de Plantas/isolamento & purificação , Datura/genética , Datura/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Datura/microbiologia , Desenho de Equipamento , Melhoramento Vegetal/métodos , Raízes de Plantas/genética , Raízes de Plantas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Raízes de Plantas/microbiologia , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/genética , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/fisiologia , Esterilização/métodos , Tropanos/análise , Tropanos/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
The tropane alkaloid anisodamine ( 2) is obtained by 6 beta-hydroxylation of hyoscyamine ( 1). The application of this alkaloid in medicine is gaining attention due to the wide range of therapeutic applications described in addition to its anticholinergic activity. In this work, the production of anisodamine ( 2) by IN VITRO cultures of BRUGMANSIA CANDIDA (Argentinean and Colombian samples) was studied. This alkaloid was estimated in different organs of IN VITRO-germinated seedlings as well as in hairy roots obtained from seedlings from both sources. Colombian roots exhibited the highest content of tropane alkaloids, with anisodamine ( 2) being the main alkaloid measured. In the leaves, the main alkaloid was scopolamine ( 3) and no significant differences were observed between Argentinean and Colombian leaves. The tropane alkaloid content in Argentinean hairy roots was significantly higher than in Colombian ones. Also, in the Argentinean samples the main alkaloid detected was anisodamine ( 2). Argentinean and Colombian B. CANDIDA seedlings and hairy roots appear to be a promising system for the production of anisodamine ( 2).