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New activity of yamamarin, an insect pentapeptide, on immune system of mealworm, Tenebrio molitor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2017

K. Walkowiak-Nowicka*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Development, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
G. Nowicki
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Virology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
M. Kuczer
Affiliation:
Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
G. Rosiński
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Physiology and Development, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
*
*Author for correspondence Tel: +48 (61) 829 59 26 Fax: +48 (61) 829 55 90 E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

In insects, two types of the immune responses, cellular and humoral, constitute a defensive barrier against various parasites and pathogens. In response to pathogens, insects produce a wide range of immune agents that act on pathogens directly, such as cecropins or lysozyme, or indirectly by the stimulation of hemocyte migration or by increasing phenoloxidase (PO) activity. Recently, many new immunologically active substances from insects, such as peptides and polypeptides, have been identified. Nevertheless, in the most cases, their physiological functions are not fully known. One such substance is yamamarin – a pentapeptide isolated from the silk moth Antheraea yamamai. This yamamarin possesses strong antiproliferative properties and is probably involved in diapause regulation. Here, we examined the immunotropic activity of yamamarin by testing its impact on selected functions of the immune system in heterologous bioassays with the beetle Tenebrio molitor, commonly known as a stored grains pest. Our results indicate that the pentapeptide affects the activity of immune processes in the beetle. We show that yamamarin induces changes in both humoral and cellular responses. The yamamarin increases the activity of PO, as well as causes changes in the hemocyte cytoskeleton and stimulates phagocytic activity. We detected an increased number of apoptotic hemocytes, however after the yamamarin injection, no significant variations in the antibacterial activity in the hemolymph were observed. The obtained data suggest that yamamarin could be an important controller of the immune system in T. molitor.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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