A Novel Anti-Microbial Peptide from Pseudomonas, REDLK Induced Growth Inhibition of Leishmania tarentolae Promastigote In Vitro

Leishmaniasis is a prevalent cause of death and animal morbidity in underdeveloped countries of endemic area. However, there is few vaccine and effective drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are involved in the innate immune response in many organisms and are being developed as novel drugs against parasitic infections. In the present study, we synthesized a 5-amino acid peptide REDLK, which mutated the C-terminus of Pseudomonas exotoxin, to identify its effect on the Leishmania tarentolae. Promastigotes were incubated with different concentration of REDLK peptide, and the viability of parasite was assessed using MTT and Trypan blue dye. Morphologic damage of Leishmania was analyzed by light and electron microscopy. Cellular apoptosis was observed using the annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection kit, mitochondrial membrane potential assay kit and flow cytometry. Our results showed that Leishmania tarentolae was susceptible to REDLK in a dose-dependent manner, disrupt the surface membrane integrity and caused parasite apoptosis. In our study, we demonstrated the leishmanicidal activity of an antimicrobial peptide REDLK from Pseudomonas aeruginosa against Leishmania tarentolae in vitro and present a foundation for further research of anti-leishmanial drugs.

Expression of OTUB1 in colon cancer and its clinical significance / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To investigate the expression of OTUB1 in colon cancer and the relationship between its expression and some clinicopathologic parameters. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemical SP method were carried out in selected colon cancer and normal mucosa tissues. Results OTUB1 mRNA in colon cancer was 3. 5-fold higher than the normal mucosa. The expression of OTUB1 protein in the colon cancer was significantly higher than normal mucosa (P<0. 05). Moreover, its expression in normal tissues, adenoma and colon cancer showed a gradually increasing trend (P<0. 05). The higher expression of OTUB1 in colon cancer was related with tumor size, differentiation and lymph node metastasis. Conclusions OTUB1 may play an important role in co-lon cancer development.