New bioactive peptides from the venom gland of a social hornet Vespa velutina

• Published in: Toxicon (Oxford) Vol. 199; pp. 94 - 100
• Main Authors: Meng, Yi-Chuan, Mo, Xiang-Gui, He, Tian-Tian, Wen, Xin-Xin, Nieh, James-C, Yang, Xin-Wang, Tan, Ken
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Antimicrobial peptides; Antioxidative peptides; Venom gland; Vespa velutina; Vespa velutina; Antioxidative peptides; Venom gland; Antimicrobial peptides
• ISSN: 0041-0101; 1879-3150
• DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.06.002

Bacterial resistance to drugs is a global problem requiring the urgent development of new antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are excellent candidates for the design of novel antibiotics to combat microbial resistance. In this research, we identified four new peptides (U-VVTX-Vp1a, U-VVTX-Vp1b, U-VVTX-Vp2a, and U-VVTX-Vp2b, respectively) from the venom of Vespa velutina, and tested their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and hemolytic effects. All four peptides showed scavenging ability against DPPH, ABTS+, and •OH free radicals. Of note, Vp1b strongly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria at concentrations of 60 and 120 μM. Due to their low hemolytic activity, all four peptides could be utilized in the development of new antioxidants and as candidates for the design of novel antimicrobial agents. •We identified four new peptides from the venom glands of Vespa velutina.•All four peptides demonstrated antimicrobial, antioxidant, and hemolytic effects.•U-VPTX-Vp1b showed strong antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli.