Drosomycin, an innate immunity peptide of Drosophila melanogaster, interacts with the fly voltage-gated sodium channel.

ABSTRACT: Several peptide families, including insect antimicrobial peptides, plant protease inhibitors, and ion channel gating modifiers, as well as blockers from scorpions, bear a common CSalphabeta scaffold. The high structural similarity between two peptides containing this scaffold, drosomycin and a truncated scorpion beta-toxin, has prompted us to examine and compare their biological effects. Drosomycin is the most expressed antimicrobial peptide in Drosophila melanogaster immune response. A truncated scorpion beta-toxin is capable of binding and inducing conformational alteration of voltage-gated sodium channels. Here, we show that both peptides (i) exhibit anti-fungal activity at micromolar concentrations; (ii) enhance allosterically at nanomolar concentration the activity of LqhalphaIT, a sc

SUBMITTER: Cohen L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2749130 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature