In recent years there is an increasing interest in the study of natural products as a direct source or as models for the design of new active compounds. An important reason for this development is the increasing resistance of pathogenic organisms to current treatments.In past experiments our group has synthesized a series of short (13 amino acids) analogues of four peptides found in the venoms of two scorpions: Opisthacanthus madagascariensis (IsCT) and Buthus martensii Karsh (BmK). These natural peptides have antibiotic activity, but as expected from venom components, these compounds also have highly undesired cytotoxicity to eukaryotic cells. Our peptide analogues showed moderate to low antibiotic activity; however, all but one of the analogues also showed remarkably low hemolytic activity.Here, we have synthesized four new peptide analogues as well as the four original natural sequences. In addition, we have conducted studies in vivo against a variety of bacteria as well as hemolysis tests with human red blood cells. Results show diverse activities on different cell types.

Synthesis and biological activity of peptide analogs from scorpion venom

247th National Meeting (2014)

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