Biochemical Characterization of HL-7 and HL-10 Peptides Identified from Scorpion Venom of Hemiscorpius lepturus

In this study, the scorpion venom of H. lepturus was fractionized by reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The sequences of two peptide fractions were identified by tandem mass spectrometry and named as HL-10 (AFPYYGHHLG) and HL-7 (YLYELAR), respectively. Antioxidant activity and cellular effect of synthetic peptides on A549 cell line were investigated. Results showed that the two peptides had high activities in radical scavenging and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in a concentration-dependent manner. The HL-10 and HL-7 peptides demonstrated cytotoxicity on A549 without any hemolytic effect. By increasing of peptide concentrations induced significantly (P ae<currency> 0.01) activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Our results showed that HL-7 peptide had higher antioxidant potency, whereas the HL-10 peptide revealed a great cytotoxicity on A549 cell line by MTT assay. Our results suggested that the peptides of H. lepturus, possessed free radicals scavenging likewise increased antioxidant enzyme activities in A549 cells.