V V Anooja, S Neelima, P P Athira, M V Anju, K Archana, S Mohan Anjali, M R Revathy, Kesavan Dhanya, Philip Rosamma
Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi, 682016, Kerala, India; Department of Zoology, St. Albert's College, Kochi, Kerala, 682018, India.
Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi, 682016, Kerala, India.
Microb Pathog. 2025 Jun;203:107518. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2025.107518. Epub 2025 Mar 29.
Antimicrobial peptides are short, mostly cationic and amphipathic molecules crucial for host defence. Among these, hepcidins are a family of cysteine rich peptides, with HAMP1 hepcidins playing a dual role in iron metabolism and antimicrobial defense. Recently, recombinantly produced Alepes djedaba hepcidin, rAd-Hep was characterized and its antibacterial potential against various pathogens have been discerned. Herein, we investigated the antifungal nature and modes of action of rAd-Hep against some fungal pathogens. The peptide was found to be active against both filamentous fungi and yeasts viz., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus sydowii, Fusarium solani, Penicillium citrinum, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The peptide acted via membrane permeabilization creating pores of ∼0.7-1.4 nm radii, ROS generation, chromatin condensation and DNA binding. The recombinant hepcidin, rAd-Hep can be considered as a promising candidate for future endeavors in antifungal therapies.
抗菌肽是短的、大多为阳离子且具有两亲性的分子，对宿主防御至关重要。其中，铁调素是一类富含半胱氨酸的肽家族，HAMP1铁调素在铁代谢和抗菌防御中发挥双重作用。最近，重组产生的杜氏金线鱼铁调素（rAd-Hep）得到了表征，并且其对各种病原体的抗菌潜力也已被识别。在此，我们研究了rAd-Hep对一些真菌病原体的抗真菌特性和作用方式。发现该肽对丝状真菌和酵母均有活性，即黄曲霉、西氏曲霉、茄病镰刀菌、桔青霉、白色念珠菌和酿酒酵母。该肽通过膜通透作用发挥作用，形成半径约为0.7 - 1.4纳米的孔，产生活性氧，导致染色质凝聚和DNA结合。重组铁调素rAd-Hep可被视为未来抗真菌治疗研究的一个有前景的候选物。
