A new in vitro anti-tumor polypeptide isolated from Arca inflata

A Novel Peptide Derived from Arca inflata Induces Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells through Mitochondria and the p38 MAPK Pathway

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related incidence and deaths. Here, we identified a novel antitumor peptide, P6, with a molecular weight of 2794.8 Da from a marine Chinese medicine, Arca inflata Reeve. The full amino acid sequence and secondary structure of P6 were determined by tandem mass de novo sequencing and circular dichroism spectroscopy, respectively. P6 markedly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation, and induced apoptosis in CRC cells. Mechanistically, transcriptomics analysis and a serial functional evaluation showed that P6 induced colon cancer cell apoptosis through the activation of the p38-MAPK signaling pathway. Moreover, it was demonstrated that P6 exhibited antitumor effects in a tumor xenograft model, and induced cell cycle arrest in CRC cells in a concentration-dependent mode. These findings provide the first line of indication that P6 could be a potential therapeutic agent for CRC treatment.

A Review of Bioactive Peptides: Chemical Modification, Structural Characterization and Therapeutic Applications

In recent years, the development and applications of protein drugs have attracted extensive attention from researchers. However, the shortcomings of protein drugs also limit their further development. Therefore, bioactive peptides isolated or simulated from protein polymers have broad application prospects in food, medicine, biotechnology, and other industries. Such peptides have a molecular weight distribution between 180 and 1000 Da. As a small molecule substance, bioactive peptide is usually degraded by various enzymes in the organism and have a short half-life. At the same time, such substances have poor stability and are difficult to produce and store. Therefore, these active peptides may be modified through phosphorylation, glycosylation, and acylation. Compared with other protein drugs, the modified active peptides are more easily absorbed by the body, have longer half-life, stronger targeting, and fewer side effects in addition to higher bioavailability. In the light of their functions, bioactive peptide can be divided into antimicrobial, anti-tumour, anti-angiogenic, antioxidant, anti-fatigue, and anti-hypertensive peptides. This article mainly focuses on the introduction of several promising biologically active peptides functioning as antimicrobial, anti-tumour, antiangiogenic, and antioxidant peptides from the three aspects modification, structural characteristics and mechanism of action.

Purification and Characterization of a New CRISP-Related Protein from Scapharca broughtonii and Its Immunomodulatory Activity

More and more attention has been paid to bioactive compounds isolated from marine organisms or microorganisms in recent years. At the present study, a new protein coded as HPCG2, was purified from Scapharca broughtonii by stepwise chromatography methods. The molecular weight of HPCG2 was determined to be 30.71 kDa by MALDI-TOF-MS. The complete amino acid sequence of HPCG2 was obtained by tandem mass spectrometry combined with transcriptome database analysis, and its secondary structure was analyzed using circular dichroism. HPCG2 comprised 251 amino acids and contained 28.4% α-helix, 26% β-sheet, 18.6% β-turn, and 29.9% random coil. HPCG2 was predicted to be a cysteine-rich secretory protein-related (CRISP-related) protein by domain prediction. Moreover, HPCG2 was proved to possess the immunomodulatory effect on the murine immune cells. MTT assay showed that HPCG2 promoted the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes and the cytotoxicity of NK cells against YAC-1 cells. Flow cytometry test revealed that HPCG2 enhanced the phagocytic function of macrophages and polarized them into M1 type in RAW264.7 cells. In particular, Western blot analysis indicated that the immunomodulatory mechanism of HPCG2 was associated with the regulation on TLR4/JNK/ERK and STAT3 signaling pathways in RAW 264.7 cells. These results suggested that HPCG2 might be developed as a potential immunomodulatory agent or new functional product from marine organisms.

Structural characterization of novel comb-like branched α-d-glucan from Arca inflata and its immunoregulatory activities in vitro and in vivo

In the current study, we identified and characterized a novel water-soluble polysaccharide (JNY2PW) with significant immunoregulatory effects and no apparent overall toxicity. JNY2PW, which was isolated from Arca inflata, belongs to a novel class of α-glucans with a molecular weight of 5.25 × 107 Da. Its backbone is composed of (1 → 4)-linked α-d-glucopyranosyl residues and a single (1 → 6)-α-d-glucopyranosyl branched unit for every five α-d-glucopyranosyl residues, showing a comb-like α-d-glucan with intensive short branches. Using in vitro models, we demonstrated that JNY2PW exerts significant immunoregulatory effects by promoting the production of nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor α. The pathway involves the activation of the TLR4-MAPK/NF-κB signaling cassette in murine RAW264.7 macrophages. In an in vivo immunosuppressive mice model induced by cyclophosphamide treatment, we found that the JNY2PW treatment produced good antitumor activity, comparable to that of chemotherapy by doxycycline in murine breast carcinoma 4T1-bearing mice, but devoid of any observable side effects (e.g. weight loss) related with doxycycline treatment. The anti-tumor mechanism of JNY2PW may involve an overall enhancement in the immune responses of the mice to tumors. These results indicate that JNY2PW possesses potential as an adjuvant to existing chemotherapy and current immune-oncology treatment.

Purification and structural characterization of a novel antioxidant and antibacterial protein from Arca inflata

A novel protein (J2-C4) with antioxidant and antibacterial activities was purified from the edible portion of Arca inflata. The purity of J2-C4 was measured to be 97.62% by RP-HPLC analysis, and the molecular weight was 20,537.0 Da by ESI-MS/MS. The isoelectric point of J2-C4 was determined to be 5.18 by IEF-PAGE. Secondary structure analysis of J2-C4 showed that it contained 34.9% α-helix, 15.0% β-sheet, 16.3% β-turn and 34.0% random coil by CD spectroscopy. The complete amino acid sequence of J2-C4 was identified by gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS together with transcriptome database analysis. Based on the alignment with NCBI BLAST database, J2-C4 showed 71% homology with a sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein isolated from Crassostrea virginica. Therefore, J2-C4 was proposed to be a new sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein-like protein in A. inflata. In vitro antioxidant assays showed that J2-C4 exhibited favorable scavenging activities on ABTS⁺ (EC₅₀ 145.80 μg/mL) and DPPH (EC₅₀ 455.62 μg/mL). J2-C4 exhibited antibacterial activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC: 375 μg/mL), Escherichia coli (MIC: 187.5 μg/mL) and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC: 750 μg/mL). The results showed that J2-C4 might be developed as a potential food additive agent.

Antibacterial Activity of AI-Hemocidin 2, a Novel N-Terminal Peptide of Hemoglobin Purified from Arca inflata

The continued emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in recent years is of great concern. The search for new classes of antibacterial agents has expanded to non-traditional sources such as shellfish. An antibacterial subunit of hemoglobin (Hb-I) was purified from the mantle of Arca inflata by phosphate extraction and ion exchange chromatography. A novel antibacterial peptide, AI-hemocidin 2, derived from Hb-I, was discovered using bioinformatics analysis. It displayed antibacterial activity across a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 37.5 to 300 μg/mL, and it exhibited minimal hemolytic or cytotoxic activities. The antibacterial activity of AI-hemocidin 2 was thermostable (25–100 °C) and pH resistant (pH 3–10). The cellular integrity was determined by flow cytometry. AI-hemocidin 2 was capable of permeating the cellular membrane. Changes in the cell morphology were observed with a scanning electron microscope. Circular dichroism spectra suggested that AI-hemocidin 2 formed an α-helix structure in the membrane mimetic environment. The results indicated that the anti-bacterial mechanism for AI-hemocidin 2 occurred through disrupting the cell membrane. AI-hemocidin 2 might be a potential candidate for tackling antibiotic resistant bacteria.