Arthropod defensin

Pfam_box
Symbol = Defensin_2
Name = Arthropod defensin


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Pfam= PF01097
InterPro= IPR001542
SMART=
PROSITE = PDOC00356
SCOP = 1ica
TCDB = 1.C.47
OPM family= 61
OPM protein= 1l4v
PDB=PDB3|1ica :61-93 PDB3|1l4vA:61-93 PDB3|1p00A:16-43PDB3|1p0aA:16-43 PDB3|1ozzA:16-43 PDB3|1i2vA:16-43PDB3|1i2uA:16-43 PDB3|1fjnA:1-36 PDB3|1zfuA:61-95

Arthropod defensins are a family of insect and scorpion cysteine-rich antibacterial peptides, primarily active against Gram-positive bacteriacite journal |author=Dunbar B, Lambert J, Keppi E, Wicker C, Lepage P, Hoffmann J, Fothergill J, Dimarcq JL, Reichhart JM, Van Dorsselaer A |title=Insect immunity: isolation from immune blood of the dipteran Phormia terranovae of two insect antibacterial peptides with sequence homology to rabbit lung macrophage bactericidal peptides |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=262–266 |year=1989 |pmid=2911573 |doi=10.1073/pnas.86.1.262] cite journal |author=Kobayashi K, Fujiwara S, Imai J, Fujiwara M, Yaeshima T, Kawashima T |title=A potent antibacterial protein in royal jelly. Purification and determination of the primary structure of royalisin |journal=J. Biol. Chem. |volume=265 |issue=19 |pages=11333–11337 |year=1990 |pmid=2358464] cite journal
author=Yamada K, Natori S |title=Purification, sequence and antibacterial activity of two novel sapecin homologues from Sarcophaga embryonic cells: similarity of sapecin B to charybdotoxin |journal=Biochem. J. |volume=291 |issue= |pages=275–279 |year=1993 |pmid=8471044] cite journal |author=Cociancich S, Bulet P, Hoffmann JA, Hetru C, Lambert J, Hoffmann D, Dimarcq JL, Reichhart JM |title=Insect immunity. Isolation from a coleopteran insect of a novel inducible antibacterial peptide and of new members of the insect defensin family |journal=J. Biol. Chem. |volume=266 |issue=36 |pages=24520–24525 |year=1991 |pmid=1761552] cite journal |author=Cociancich S, Bulet P, Hoffmann JA, Hegy G, Hetru C, Reuland M, Sauber F, Bischoff R, Van Dorsselaer A |title=A novel insect defensin mediates the inducible antibacterial activity in larvae of the dragonfly Aeschna cyanea (Paleoptera, Odonata) |journal=Eur. J. Biochem. |volume=209 |issue=3 |pages=977–984 |year=1992 |pmid=1425705 |doi=10.1111/j.1432-1033.1992.tb17371.x] . All these peptides range in length from 38 to 51 amino acids. There are six conserved cysteines all involved in intrachain disulfide bonds.

A schematic representation of peptides from the arthropod defensin family is shown below.

+----------------------------+

xxCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCxxxCxxxxxxxxxCxxxxxCxCxx
| |
+---|---------------+
+-----------------+'C': conserved cysteine involved in a disulfide bond.

Although low level sequence similarities have been reported between the arthropod defensins and mammalian defensins, the topological arrangement of the disulfide bonds as well as the tertiary structurecite journal |author=Natori S, Kohda D, Hanzawa H, Shimada I, Kuzuhara T, Komano H, Inagaki F, Arata Y |title=1H nuclear magnetic resonance study of the solution conformation of an antibacterial protein, sapecin |journal=FEBS Lett. |volume=269 |issue=2 |pages=413–420 |year=1990 |pmid=2401368 |doi=10.1016/0014-5793(90)81206-4] are completely different in the two families.

Notes

Further reading

*Refined three-dimensional solution structure of insect defensin A. CornetB, Bonmatin JM, Hetru C, Hoffmann JA, Ptak M, Vovelle F; Structure 1995;3:435-448. PMID|7663941

References

*InterPro content|IPR001542
* - Arthropod defensins in PROSITE (=source of figure)