AVP-W-3

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease. The main pathological feature is the degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which leads to the significant decrease of dopamine content in the striatum. Our recent studies have shown that scorpion venom heat-resistant synthetic peptide (SVHRSP) have protective effects on neuroinflammation. In this study, using C. elegans induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) as neurodegenerative model, we investigated the effect of SVHRSP on dopaminergic neurons neurotoxicity. Our results implied that SVHRSP treatment could improve the motor capacity in 6-OHDA-induced C. elegans and improve dopaminergic neuron mediated food sensitivity behavior. After SVHRSP treatment, dopaminergic neuron degeneration induced by 6-OHDA was significantly prevented along with a decreased α-synuclein aggregation and restored lipid deposition in C. elegans induced by 6-OHDA. We also observed the reduced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after SVHRSP treatment in model-building C. elegans. In addition, the genes related to apoptosis, oxidative stress, like ctl-1, egl-1and cat-2 in C. elegans induced by 6-OHDA upregulated after treatment with SVHRSP. In conclusion, SVHRSP may impose anti-PD effect through its neuroprotective action on dopaminergic neurons. This study elucidates the effect and related mechanism of SVHRSP on PD and provides evidences for the therapeutic treatment of PD.

Scorpion peptides have good therapeutic effect on chronic ulcer of diabetic foot, but the related pharmacological mechanism has remained unclear. The different proteins and bacteria present in ulcer exudates from chronic diabetic foot patients, treated with scorpion antimicrobial peptide at different stages, were analyzed using isobaric tags for quantification-labeled proteomics and bacteriological methods. According to the mass spectrometry data, a total of 1865 proteins were identified qualitatively, and the number of the different proteins was 130 (mid/early), 401 (late/early), and 310 (mid, late/early). In addition, functional annotation, cluster analysis of effects and the analysis of signal pathway, transcription regulation, and protein-protein interaction network were carried out. The results showed that the biochemical changes of wound microenvironment during the treatment involved activated biological functions such as protein synthesis, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, movement, and survival. Inhibited biological functions such as cell death, inflammatory response, immune diseases, and bacterial growth were also involved. Bacteriological analysis showed that Burkholderia cepacia was the main bacteria in the early and middle stage of ulcer exudate and Staphylococcus epidermidis in the late stage. This study provides basic data for further elucidation of the molecular mechanism of diabetic foot.