Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
Animal Systematics Research Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
BMC Res Notes. 2021 Apr 15;14(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s13104-021-05557-0.
Snails secrete different types of mucus that serve several functions, and are increasingly being exploited for medical and cosmetic applications. In this study, we explored the protein pattern and compared the biological properties of the mucus secreted from the mantle collar and foot of two snail species, Lissachatina fulica and Hemiplecta distincta.
Protein profile showed a different pattern between the two species and between the two secretory parts. The mantle-specific protein bands were further characterized and among them was an antibacterial protein, achacin. Accordingly, the mucus from the mantle exhibited the higher antibacterial activity than that from the foot in both snail species. The mucus from H. distincta, first reported here, also showed antibacterial properties, but with a lower activity compared to that for L. fulica. Snail mucus also exhibited anti-tyrosinase activity and antioxidant activity but with no significant difference between the foot and mantle mucus. These results indicate some different protein compositions and biological activities of snail slime from the mantle and foot, which might be associated with their specific functions in the animal and are useful for medical applications.
蜗牛会分泌多种具有不同功能的黏液，这些黏液正越来越多地被应用于医学和美容领域。在本研究中，我们对两种蜗牛（福寿螺和赫氏巴蜗牛）的外套膜和足部分泌的黏液的蛋白质图谱进行了探索，并对其生物学特性进行了比较。
两种蜗牛以及两种分泌部位的蛋白图谱存在差异。外套膜特有的蛋白条带被进一步进行了表征，其中包括一种具有抗菌活性的蛋白 achacin。因此，两种蜗牛的外套膜黏液均表现出比足部黏液更高的抗菌活性。本研究首次报道了赫氏巴蜗牛黏液具有抗菌活性，但活性低于福寿螺。蜗牛黏液还具有抑制酪氨酸酶活性和抗氧化活性，但足部和外套膜黏液之间没有显著差异。这些结果表明，蜗牛黏液在外套膜和足部的蛋白组成和生物学活性上存在一些差异，这可能与其在动物中的特定功能有关，对医学应用具有重要意义。
