(ORDO NEWS) — Researchers at La Trobe University have identified a unique way that crocodiles deal with fungal infections. In the future, this could become the basis for new human drugs.
Defensins are plant and animal proteins that form an important part of our innate immunity and protect against microbial pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.
First discovered in the 1980s, they have recently attracted increasing attention as potential therapeutic agents.
So far, most of the research has focused on human and plant defensins, while proteins from other animal species may have unique and useful functions.
Having studied and determined the structure of the combed crocodile defensin CpoBD13 , scientists from La Trobe University (Australia) found that this protein has a powerful pH-mediated antifungal activity.
With the help of the Australian Synchrotron, scientists were able to study in detail the process of defensin attacking the membrane of a pathogenic fungus.
It turned out that the activity of this protein is determined by the acidity of the environment: at neutral pH, this protein is inactive, but in a slightly acidic environment, its antifungal activity increases dramatically.
Due to this feature, CpoBD13 remains inactive in the body of a crocodile under normal conditions (this prevents its harmful effects on the animal’s own cells), but as soon as fungal pathogens begin to acidify the environment, defensin immediately begins to bind to fungal cell membranes and destroy them.
The results of the study, may be useful in developing novel treatments for fungal infections, which have become increasingly serious in recent times due to the spread of resistance to popular antibiotics.
Artificially developed pH-dependent defensins will be able to suppress fungal activity in the human body without affecting the body’s own cells, which will help to cope with the most serious infections.
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