UCIBIO-Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
Mar Drugs. 2021 May 15;19(5):276. doi: 10.3390/md19050276.
Marine biodiversity has been yielding promising novel bioproducts from venomous animals. Despite the auspices of conotoxins, which originated the paradigmatic painkiller Prialt, the biotechnological potential of gastropod venoms remains to be explored. Marine bioprospecting is expanding towards temperate species like the dogwhelk , which is suspected to secrete immobilizing agents through its salivary glands with a relaxing effect on the musculature of its preferential prey, sp. This work focused on detecting, localizing, and testing the bioreactivity of cysteine-rich proteins and peptides, whose presence is a signature of animal venoms and poisons. The highest content of thiols was found in crude protein extracts from the digestive gland, which is associated with digestion, followed by the peribuccal mass, where the salivary glands are located. Conversely, the foot and siphon (which the gastropod uses for feeding) are not the main organs involved in toxin secretion. Ex vivo bioassays with gill tissue disclosed the differential bioreactivity of crude protein extracts. Secretions from the digestive gland and peribuccal mass caused the most significant molecular damage, with evidence for the induction of apoptosis. These early findings indicate that salivary glands are a promising target for the extraction and characterization of bioactive cysteine-rich proteinaceous toxins from the species.
海洋生物多样性从有毒动物中产生了有前途的新型生物制品。尽管海葵毒素带来了开创性的止痛药 Prialt，但腹足动物毒液的生物技术潜力仍有待探索。海洋生物勘探正在向像狗蛤这样的温带物种扩展，人们怀疑狗蛤通过其唾液腺分泌固定剂，对其首选猎物的肌肉产生放松作用，sp。这项工作集中于检测、定位和测试富含半胱氨酸的蛋白质和肽的生物活性，这些蛋白质和肽的存在是动物毒液和毒素的特征。在消化腺的粗蛋白提取物中发现了最高含量的硫醇，这与消化有关，其次是位于唾液腺的颊下组织。相反，足部和虹吸管（腹足类用于进食的器官）不是毒素分泌的主要器官。用鳃组织进行的离体生物测定揭示了粗蛋白提取物的差异生物活性。消化腺和颊下组织的分泌物引起了最显著的分子损伤，有证据表明诱导了细胞凋亡。这些早期发现表明，唾液腺是从该物种中提取和鉴定生物活性富含半胱氨酸的蛋白质毒素的有前途的目标。
