Antibacterial properties of lucifensin in Lucilia sericata maggots after septic injury.

Objective: To investigate the antibacterial properties of lucifensin in maggots of Lucilia sericata after septic injury.

Methods: In our preliminary study we have shown that injuring the maggots with a needle soaked in lipopolysaccharide solution induced within 24 h lucifensin expression in the fat body and in the grease coupler of the salivary glands. It is assumed that lucifensin is secreted solely from this tissue into the haemolymph (similar to other insect defensins) and not into secreted/excreted products.

Selective Antibiofilm Effects of Lucilia sericata Larvae Secretions/Excretions against Wound Pathogens.

Background. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT), using Lucilia sericata larvae, represents efficient, simple, and low-cost therapy for the treatment of chronic wounds. Aim.

A novel highly divergent protein family identified from a viviparous insect by RNA-seq analysis: a potential target for tsetse fly-specific abortifacients.

In tsetse flies, nutrients for intrauterine larval development are synthesized by the modified accessory gland (milk gland) and provided in mother's milk during lactation. Interference with at least two milk proteins has been shown to extend larval development and reduce fecundity. The goal of this study was to perform a comprehensive characterization of tsetse milk proteins using lactation-specific transcriptome/milk proteome analyses and to define functional role(s) for the milk proteins during lactation.

Methylglyoxal may affect hydrogen peroxide accumulation in manuka honey through the inhibition of glucose oxidase.

Although hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is one of the major antibacterial factors in most honeys, it does not accumulate in medical-grade manuka honey. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of artificially added methylglyoxal (MGO) on H₂O₂ accumulation in natural non-manuka honeys. H₂O₂ concentrations in the honey solutions were determined using a fluorimetric assay.

Fir honeydew honey flavonoids inhibit TNF-α-induced MMP-9 expression in human keratinocytes: a new action of honey in wound healing.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) appears to be a major protease responsible for the degradation of matrix and growth-promoting agents in chronic wounds. Honey has been successfully used for treating non-healing wounds associated with infections. However, the mechanisms of its action at the cellular level have remained poorly understood.

Expression of lucifensin in Lucilia sericata medicinal maggots in infected environments.

Lucifensin, a novel larval defensin, is one of the antibacterial agents of medicinal maggots involved in maggot therapy. The goal of this study was to examine lucifensin expression in various larval tissues during Lucilia sericata development and in maggots exposed to a variety of infectious environments in vitro. In situ hybridisation revealed lucifensin expression in the salivary glands of all larval stages.

Anti-biofilm effects of honey against wound pathogens Proteus mirabilis and Enterobacter cloacae.

Biofilm growth and its persistence within wounds have recently been suggested as contributing factors to impaired healing. The goal of this study was to investigate the anti-biofilm effects of several honey samples of different botanical origin, including manuka honey against Proteus mirabilis and Enterobacter cloacae wound isolates. Quantification of biofilm formation was carried out using a microtiter plate assay.

Sphingomyelinase activity in mother's milk is essential for juvenile development: a case from lactating tsetse flies.

Sphingosine is a structural component of sphingolipids. The metabolism of phosphoethanolamine ceramide (sphingomyelin) by sphingomyelinase (SMase), followed by the breakdown of ceramide by ceramidase (CDase) yields sphingosine. Female tsetse fly is viviparous and generates a single progeny within her uterus during each gonotrophic cycle.

Analysis of lipolysis underlying lactation in the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans.

Female tsetse flies undergo viviparous reproduction, generating one larva each gonotrophic cycle. Larval nourishment is provided by the mother in the form of milk secretions. The milk consists mostly of lipids during early larval development and shifts to a balanced combination of protein and lipids in the late larval instars.

Methylglyoxal-induced modifications of significant honeybee proteinous components in manuka honey: Possible therapeutic implications.

Methylglyoxal (MGO) is a major antibacterial component of manuka honey. Another antibacterial component found in Revamil honey, peptide defensin1, was not identified in manuka honey. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the content of defensin1 in honeys of different botanical origins and to investigate a presumed effect of reactive MGO on defensin1 and a dominant protein of honey MRJP1 in manuka honey.

Honeydew honey as a potent antibacterial agent in eradication of multi-drug resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates from cancer patients.

Multi-drug resistance in nosocomial pathogens is a continually evolving and alarming problem in health care units. Since ancient times, honey has been used successfully for the treatment of a broad spectrum of infections with no risk of resistance development. This study investigated the antibacterial activity of two natural honeys, namely honeydew and manuka, against 20 nosocomial multi-drug resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S.