Temporins, anti-infective peptides with expanding properties

Antimicrobial peptides are effector molecules of the innate immune response of all pluricellular organisms, providing them with first-line defence against pathogens. Amphibian skin secretions represent one of the richest natural sources for such peptide antibiotics, and temporins, a large family of antimicrobial peptides from frog skin, are among the smallest ones found in nature to date. Their functional role and modes of action have been described, along with their interesting and unique properties. These properties make temporins good molecules for an in-depth understanding of host defence peptides in general. Furthermore, they are attractive templates for the future design of new therapeutics against infectious diseases with new modes of action, urgently needed due to the increasing resistance of microorganisms to the available drugs. Received 8 November 2005; received after revision 19 December 2005; accepted 18 January 2006     

Plasticins: membrane-damaging peptides with ‘chameleon-like’ properties

Plasticins belong to the dermaseptin superfamily of gene-encoded, membrane-active host defense peptides produced by the skin of hylid frogs. The plasticins, which are rich in Gly and Leu residues arranged in regular 5-mer motifs GXXXG (where X is any amino acid residue), have very similar amino acid sequences, hydrophobicities, and amphipathicities but differ markedly in their net charge, conformational plasticity, and activity spectra. The intrinsic flexibility and structural malleability of plasticins modulate their ability to bind to and disrupt the membranes of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and/or to reach intracellular targets, therefore triggering functional versatility. This family of closely related but functionally divergent peptides constitutes a good model to address the relationships between structural polymorphism, membrane-interacting properties, and the biological activity of antimicrobial, cell-penetrating, and viral fusion peptides. Plasticins could thus serve as templates to design potent multifunctional drugs that could act simultaneously against bacterial pathogens and viruses. Received 26 September 2007; received after revision 22 October 2007; accepted 29 October 2007     

Biochemistry of frog ribonucleases

Frogs have unique pyrimidine base-specific RNases, with structures similar to those of turtle, iguana and chicken RNases. Among the four frog RNases discussed here, three from Rana pipiens, R. catesbeiana and R. japonica oocyte cells show anti-tumour activity, and the latter two show lectin activity towards sialic acid-rich glycoproteins. In this review, (i) we compare their unique primary structures with respect to the locations of their disulphide bridges, three-dimensional structure, base specificity and heat stability as compared with RNase A, and (ii) we summarize current knowledge about the mode of action of lectin and the antitumour activities of the three frog RNases.     

蛙胚截头再生实验

为了探索脊椎动物头部再生的问题,采用人工截断头部的外科手术方法,对脊椎动物无尾两栖类中的泽蛙(R.Limnocharis Boie)和花狭口蛙(K.PulchraPulchra Gray)的胚胎进行截头再生的实验,发现早期胚胎中的尾芽期、肌肉感应期、孵化期及开口期的胚体截除头部后,都可以出现具有头部器官的完全再生(典型再生)头及缺少头部器官的不完全再生(非典型再生)头。实验结果表明蛙的早期胚胎是能再生出头,这一事实证明某些脊椎动物和某些无脊椎动物一样,截除头部后也有可能再生。     

陶氏颚口线虫流行病学调查及动物感染实验

报道四川省名山和峨边县为陶氏颚口线虫典型流行区，猪的感染率为５．６％和１８．６％；在流行区新发现４种硅和一种蟾蜍为本虫的第二中间宿主。野猪是本病的重要感染源，感染率高达６８．２％。实验证明鼠类和家鸡、鸭为本虫的适宜转续缩主。     

理县湍蛙的年龄结构初探

用骨龄学方法对50只理县湍蛙(雌蛙30只和雄蛙20只)的年龄结构与身体大小的关系进行了初步研究.结果表明骨龄学方法对理县湍蛙的年龄鉴定非常有效,个体的趾骨切片均有明显的年轮线(LAGs).雌蛙的平均年龄为4.7±1.6岁,年龄范围为2-9岁,雄蛙的平均年龄为3.8±1.2岁,年龄范围为3-7岁.雌蛙明显长于雄蛙,雌蛙体长为68.9±4.2mm,体长范围为60.40-74.88 mm,雄蛙体长为50.7±4.3 mm,体长范围为42.1-56.3 mm.