What is it about?
A new antimicrobial peptide, herein named Stigmurin, was selected based on a transcriptomic analysis of the Brazilian yellow scorpion Tityus stigmurus venom gland, an underexplored source for toxic peptides with possible biotechnological applications. Stigmurin was investigated in silico, by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and in vitro. The CD spectra suggested that this peptide interacts with membranes, changing its conformation in the presence of an amphipathic environment, with predominance of random coil and beta-sheet structures. Stigmurin exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activity, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 8.7 to 69.5 μM. It was also showed that Stigmurin is toxic against SiHa and Vero E6 cell lines. The results suggest that Stigmurin can be considered a potential anti-infective drug.
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Why is it important?
•This work describes a novel peptide (Stigmurin) from Tityus stigmurus scorpion. •Stigmurin's structure was evaluated in silico and by circular dichroism. •The peptide assumes different conformations depending on the environment. •Stigmurin exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities. •Stigmurin was toxic against SiHa and Vero E6 cell lines.
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This page is a summary of: Structural characterization of a novel peptide with antimicrobial activity from the venom gland of the scorpion Tityus stigmurus: Stigmurin, Peptides, June 2015, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2015.03.003.
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