Key Laboratory of Special Biological Resource Development & Utilization of Universities in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Urban Agricultural Engineering & Technological Research Center,Department of Biological Science & Technology, Kunming University, Kunming, Yunnan 650214, China.
Key Laboratory of Subtropical Medicinal Edible Resources Development and Utilization in Yunnan Province, Department of Biology & Chemistry, Puer University, Puer, Yunnan 665000, China; Key Laboratory of Active Molecules and Drug Development, Puer University, Puer, Yunnan 665000, China; Institute of Comparative Study of Traditional Materia Medica, Institute of Integrative Medicine of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
J Proteomics. 2019 May 30;200:153-160. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2019.03.009. Epub 2019 Mar 14.
Medicinal leeches have been widely utilized in medical procedures for thousands of years. The application of leeches depends on the components of leech saliva secretions and active molecules, but many components of the secretions are not well characterized due to their low concentration and abundance. Determination of the profiles of leech salivary secretions is important to its medicinal application. In this study, we performed an in-depth proteomic analysis of leech salivary glands and deduced 434 full-length protein sequences from combined leech proteome and transcriptome databases. After integrating data from both datasets, forty-four proteins and two hundred twenty-one transcripts of bioactive molecules were involved in leech sucking pathways. Using gene expression analysis, we found that two-thirds of bioactive genes played key roles in leech bite processes and were associated cave-dwelling habitats. Our results indicate that the treatment efficiency can differ depending on the sucking leech species. Moreover, combining high-throughput proteomic and transcriptomic analyses is effective for the determination of wide profiles of proteins that are present at low concentrations in secretions. These findings highlight the extensive diversity of bioactive molecules and provide a new foundation for performing novel investigations and discovering future pharmacological agents or targets in leech medicinal therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: Medicinal leech therapy has been used for many centuries depending on the components of leech saliva secretions and active actions, but many components of the secretions were less known due to its low concentration and abundance. Determination of the profiles of leech salivary secretions is important to its medicinal application. Hereby, the molecular information provided by proteomic and transcriptomic analysis can be used to develop a more thorough understanding of leech sucking pathway and medicinal application. It provided a new foundation for performing novel investigations and discovering future pharmacological agents or targets in leech medicinal therapy.
医用水蛭在医学程序中已经被广泛应用了几千年。水蛭的应用依赖于水蛭唾液分泌物和活性分子的成分，但由于其浓度低和丰度低，许多分泌物的成分还没有很好地描述。确定水蛭唾液分泌物的图谱对于其药用应用很重要。在这项研究中，我们对水蛭的唾液腺进行了深入的蛋白质组学分析，并从组合的水蛭蛋白质组和转录组数据库中推断出 434 条全长蛋白质序列。在整合了两个数据集的数据后，有 44 种蛋白质和 221 种生物活性分子的转录本参与了水蛭吸血途径。通过基因表达分析，我们发现三分之二的生物活性基因在水蛭咬伤过程中发挥关键作用，并与洞穴栖息地有关。我们的结果表明，治疗效果可能因吸血水蛭的种类而异。此外，结合高通量蛋白质组学和转录组学分析，对于确定分泌物中低浓度存在的广泛蛋白质图谱是有效的。这些发现突出了生物活性分子的广泛多样性，并为在水蛭药用治疗中进行新的研究和发现未来的药理学试剂或靶点提供了新的基础。意义：医用水蛭疗法已经使用了几个世纪，这取决于水蛭唾液分泌物的成分和活性作用，但由于其浓度低和丰度低，许多分泌物的成分还不太了解。确定水蛭唾液分泌物的图谱对于其药用应用很重要。通过蛋白质组学和转录组学分析提供的分子信息，可以用来更深入地了解水蛭吸血途径和药用应用。为在水蛭药用治疗中进行新的研究和发现未来的药理学试剂或靶点提供了新的基础。
