Role of Antimicrobial Peptides in Immunity of Parasitic Leeches

The review summarizes the current state of knowledge about leech immunity, with emphasis on the special role of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and highlights the wide variety of primary AMP structures, which seem to correlate with a variety of life strategies and the ecology of ectoparasites. Antimicrobial proteins and AMPs are a diverse class of natural molecules that are produced in all living organisms in response to an attack by a pathogen and are essential components of the immune system. AMPs can have a wide range of antibiotic activities against foreign and opportunistic bacteria, fungi, and viruses. AMPs play an important role in selection of colonizing bacterial symbionts, thus helping multicellular organisms to cope with certain environmental problems. AMPs are especially important for invertebrates, which lack an adaptive immune system. Although many AMPs are similar in physicochemical properties (a total length from 10 to 100 amino acids, a positive total charge, or a high cysteine content), their immunomodulatory activities are specific for each AMP type.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Comprehensive review of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) diversity in parasitic leeches summarizing primary structures correlating with life strategies and ecology of ectoparasites; AMPs essential for invertebrate immunity.

Узнайте, как это исследование связано с клинической практикой

More peer-reviewed studies in Антимикробная резистентность.

• Novel Leech Antimicrobial Peptides — Hirunipins — Kumar et al. (2025)
• AIF-1 and RNASET2 Play Complementary Roles in the Innate Immune Response of Medicinal Leech — Baranzini N et al. (2019)
• Aeromonas septicemia after medicinal leech use following replantation of severed digits — Levine SM et al. (2009)
• Low-Level Antimicrobials in the Medicinal Leech Select for Resistant Pathogens — Beka L et al. (2018)
• The elastase-inhibitor eglin has no effect in an ovine model of endotoxemia — Redl H et al. (1988)
• Competitive inhibition of heparinase by persulfonated glycosaminoglycans: a tool to detect heparin contamination — Aich U et al. (2011)
• A novel Toll like receptor with two TIR domains (HcToll-2) is involved in regulation of antimicrobial peptide gene expression of Hyriopsis cumingii. — Ren Q et al. (2014)
• Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a short peptidoglycan recognition protein from triangle-shell pearl mussel (Hyriopsis cumingii). — Huang Y et al. (2018)
• Isolation, Characterization, and Evaluation of a Lytic Jumbo Phage Z90 Againstin American Eels (). — Zhang M et al. (2025)
• Elucidating environmental reservoir of antimicrobial resistance - a phenotypic characterization of gut microbiota from aquatic coleoptera in a low-anthropogenic impact zone. — Orhan F et al. (2025)

Browse all ASH-analysed research →