Antiviral activity of hemocyanins

Abstract

Hemocyanins are giant biological macromolecules acting as oxygen-transporting glycoproteins. Most of them are respiratory proteins of arthropods and mollusks, but besides they also exhibit protecting effects against bacterial, fungal and viral invasions. As discovered by 2-DGE proteomics analyses, several proteins including hemocyanins of hemocytes from virus-infected arthropods increased upon infection, confirming hemocyanin’s role as part of the organism’s defence system. Based on the structural analyses of molluscan Hcs it is suggested that the carbohydrate chains of the glycoproteins seem to interact with surface-exposed amino acid or carbohydrate residues of the viruses through van der Waals interactions.

Keywords

• functional units
• hemocyanin
• mollusks
• arthropods
• viruses