Antimicrobial Activity of Molluscan Hemocyanins from Helix and Rapana Snails

Title:Antimicrobial Activity of Molluscan Hemocyanins from Helix and Rapana Snails

Volume: 17 Issue: 3

Author(s): Pavlina Dolashka, Aleksander Dolashki, Jozef Van Beeumen, Matthias Floetenmeyer, Lyudmila Velkova, Stefan Stevanovic and Wolfgang Voelter

Affiliation:

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, hemocyanins, Helix aspersa (HaH), Rapana venosa (RvH), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli.

Abstract: For the first time the antimicrobial activities of hemocyanins from the molluscs Rapana venosa (RvH) and Helix aspersa (HaH) have been tested. From the hemolymph of the garden snail H. aspersa one structural subunit (βc-HaH ) and eight functional units (FUs, βc-HaH-a to βc-HaH-h) were isolated, and their N-terminal sequences and molecular weights, ranging between 45 and 65 kDa, determined. The antimicrobial test of the hemocyanins against different bacteria showed that only two FUs from Rapana, RvH1-b and RvH1-e, exhibit a low inhibition effect against Staphylococcus aureus. In contrast and surprisingly, the structural subunit βc-HaH of H. aspersa not only shows strong antimicrobial activities against S. aureus and the likewise Gram-positive Streptococcus epidermidis, but also against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. We suggest that this subunit therefore has the potential to become a substitute for the commonly used antibiotics against which bacterial resistance has gradually been developed.

Cite this article as:

Dolashka Pavlina, Dolashki Aleksander, Beeumen Van Jozef, Floetenmeyer Matthias, Velkova Lyudmila, Stevanovic Stefan and Voelter Wolfgang, Antimicrobial Activity of Molluscan Hemocyanins from Helix and Rapana Snails, Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2016; 17 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389201016666150907113435