With the objective of detecting antimicrobial molecules that help control inflammations and do not compromise the body’s ability to fight infections, researchers from the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) carry out studies with skin secretions of the endemic frog of Mexico, Pachymedusa Dacnicolor.
The specimen, a greenish frog, is also known as the face of a child, green frog or Mexican tree frog.
“We focus on peptides with dual activity: antimicrobial and immunomodulating. We have several models, particularly for skin conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis,” said Constance Auvynet in a statement issued this Sunday by UNAM.
Auvynet together with Yvonne Rosenstein, both of the Molecular Medicine Department and IBT bioprocesss, pointed out that the objective of their investigations with the tree frog, which is in particular in the state of Morelos and the coast of the state of Guerrero, “is to develop new safe, effective and accessible treatments to combat inflammatory and infectious diseases.”
They also indicated that they have another model in elaboration against actinomicetone, which is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by various bacteria, the most frequent is Brazilian nocardia.
“We purify small peptides with different functions. All are antimicrobial and many modulate the immune response, that is, they have a dual role,” said Yvonne Rosenstein. They currently conduct research at the biological level; The objective is that they can move towards clinical studies later.
They explained that peptides are produced by the glands of the frog skin and can be collected by an electrical stimulus or by pressing their skin. In addition, they said that the procedure is possible to repeat it every 15 days, without the need to sacrifice the animal.
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The samples go through several stages of purification and by chromatographies, fractions are obtained in which there are peptides that are then used in biological tests. “If interesting data is detected, this fraction is sequenced to have the peptides,” they said.
Rosenstein recalled that in all cultures natural products, plants and animals are used, such as medicines sources, or to alter behavior.
In their article “Ranas: from traditional medicine to new drugs” in the magazine Biotechnology in motion, the UNAM researchers explained that in mammals the peptides are in minimal quantities; In contrast, large proportions occur in the skin of amphibians, so it is possible to isolate enough material to obtain the amino acid sequence and test its pharmacological effects from a single specimen.
They added that throughout history in traditional medicine, products obtained from them have been used, for example, due to their recognized ability to facilitate wound healing.
The oldest reference dates back to the Assyrians (2000-1000 years a. C) With the discovery of cuneiform writing tables in which the use of bile extracts of these animals mixed with milk is related to cure the infections of the eyes.
In our country, its use in traditional medicine since pre -Hispanic times is also documented. Some indigenous communities of the State of Mexico still use secretions of the TLALOC frog (Lithobates Tlaloci), endemic to the Mexico Basin, as a remedy for diabetes or cough.
Currently, more than 400 peptides have been isolated with activities such as neuromediators, vasodilators, hormones, growth factors, opioids, immunomodulators and antimicrobial peptides.
With EFE information
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