Blap-6, a Novel Antifungal Peptide from the Chinese Medicinal Beetle Blaps rhynchopetera against Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) is a pathogenic fungus that can cause life-threatening meningitis, particularly in individuals with compromised immune systems. The current standard treatment involves the combination of amphotericin B and azole drugs, but this regimen often leads to inevitable toxicity in patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new antifungal drugs with improved safety profiles. We screened antimicrobial peptides from the hemolymph transcriptome of Blaps rhynchopetera (B. rhynchopetera), a folk Chinese medicine. We found an antimicrobial peptide named blap-6 that exhibited potent activity against bacteria and fungi. Blap-6 is composed of 17 amino acids (KRCRFRIYRWGFPRRRF), and it has excellent antifungal activity against <

SUBMITTER: Zhang LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11121495 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature