O Ebru Tanriverdi
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.
Protein Pept Lett. 2025;32(2):97-110. doi: 10.2174/0109298665356946241218103145.
Like other vertebrates, amphibians possess innate and adaptive immune systems. At the center of the adaptive immune system is the Major Histocompatibility Complex. The important molecules of innate immunity are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These peptides are secreted by granular glands in the skin and protect the animal against microorganisms entering its body through the skin. AMPs offer an effective and rapid defense against pathogenic microorganisms and have cationic and amphiphilic structures. These peptides are small gene-encoded molecules of 8-50 amino acid residues synthesized by ribosomes. These small molecules typically exhibit activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even cancer cells. It is known that today's amphibian AMPs originated from a common precursor gene 150 million years ago and that the origin of these peptides is preprodermaseptins. Today, antibiotic resistance has occurred due to the incorrect use of antibiotics. Traditional antibiotics are becoming increasingly inadequate. AMPs are considered promising candidates for the development of new-generation antibiotics. Therefore, new antibiotic discoveries are needed. AMPs are suitable molecules for new-generation antibiotics that are both fast and have different killing mechanisms. One of the biggest problems in the clinical applications of AMPs is their poor stability. AMPs generally have limited tropical applications because they are sensitive to protease degradation. Coating these peptides with nanomaterials to make them more stable can solve this problem.
与其他脊椎动物一样，两栖动物拥有先天性和适应性免疫系统。适应性免疫系统的核心是主要组织相容性复合体。先天性免疫的重要分子是抗菌肽（AMPs）。这些肽由皮肤中的颗粒腺分泌，保护动物免受通过皮肤进入其体内的微生物侵害。抗菌肽对病原微生物提供有效且快速的防御，具有阳离子和两亲性结构。这些肽是由核糖体合成的、由8 - 50个氨基酸残基组成的小基因编码分子。这些小分子通常对细菌、病毒、真菌甚至癌细胞具有活性。已知当今的两栖动物抗菌肽在1.5亿年前起源于一个共同的前体基因，这些肽的起源是前皮肤素。如今，由于抗生素的不当使用出现了抗生素耐药性。传统抗生素越来越不足。抗菌肽被认为是开发新一代抗生素的有前景的候选物。因此，需要发现新的抗生素。抗菌肽是适合作为新一代抗生素的分子，它们起效快且具有不同的杀伤机制。抗菌肽临床应用中最大的问题之一是其稳定性差。抗菌肽通常局部应用有限，因为它们对蛋白酶降解敏感。用纳米材料包裹这些肽以使其更稳定可以解决这个问题。
