Why this is interesting

• Desmodus rotundus (vampire bat; UniProt code DESRO) feeds exclusively on blood.
• To keep host blood flowing, its salivary glands secrete a cocktail of proteins that block coagulation, dissolve clots, dilate vessels, and dampen innate immunity.
• These host-manipulating proteins are a rich source of anticoagulant and antithrombotic drug leads (e.g. the bat-derived plasminogen activator concept).
• Yet most of the underlying gene products are poorly annotated in public databases.

Key biology: a blood-feeding pharmacopeia

The salivary secretome targets the host across several axes:

• Hemostasis / coagulation — plasminogen activators, Kunitz/TFPI-like inhibitors, serpins, apyrase, phosphatase (platelet function).
• Vascular tone / angiogenesis — natriuretic/CNP peptide, PACAP, ADAMTS metalloproteases.
• Innate immune modulation — DNases (neutrophil function), chemokine/lymphotoxin-like cytokines, TSG-6-related TNF-inducible protein.
• Antimicrobial defense — beta-defensin, lysozyme (accessory-gland enriched).

Source: Vampirome transcriptome/proteome of D. rotundus salivary glands (PMC3685427).

The approach: AI-assisted gene review

• Curate DESRO salivary candidates within the AI gene review framework: synthesize literature, existing GO annotations, and bioinformatics into structured *-ai-review.yaml records.
• Map Vampirome transcript IDs (BatTrinityAbyss-*, DrSigp-SigP-*) to TSA accessions (GABZ01*) and UniProt entries via NCBI E-utilities + UniProt REST.
• Prioritize the most hemostasis/immune-relevant candidates for deep review.
• Cross-links with the broader PARASITE_IMMUNE_MODULATORS project on host immune manipulation.

From transcript to UniProt: the mapping

Example mappings (transcript → TSA → UniProt → protein):

Priority shortlist (13 candidates)

Focused on hemostasis and immune modulation:

• Hemostasis: t-plasminogen activator (K9IJK6), Kunitz-type protease inhibitor 2 (K9IZA2), plasma protease C1 inhibitor (K9IYM3), ADAMTS-1 (K9IUF6)
• Innate immune / neutrophil: Deoxyribonuclease-1-like 1 (K9J287), C-C motif chemokine (K9IFY6), Lymphotoxin-alpha (K9IWR0), TNF-inducible gene 6 / TSG-6 (K9IIP0)
• Antimicrobial: Beta-defensin 1 (K9IFT7), lysozyme / LYZ (K9IWH5)
• Vascular / other: Natriuretic peptides B (K9IWC0), SCP/CRISP (K9IWX5), Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (K9J2R0)

Protein families represented

The secretome recruits recurring, repurposed protein families:

• Protease inhibitors: Kunitz/TFPI-like, serpins (neuroserpin, alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, Serpin B6), cystatin, Kazal, TIL, alpha-macroglobulin, TIMP-like.
• Proteases: plasminogen activator, ADAMTS metalloproteases, dipeptidyl peptidase 4.
• Lipocalins: multiple putative salivary lipocalins (lipid/ligand binding).
• CAP / antigen-5 (CRISP), chemokine/cytokine-like, DNases, antimicrobials (defensin, lysozyme).

A small number of families, repeatedly expanded, do the host-manipulation work.

Highlight: Draculin (seed gene)

• Draculin — the canonical vampire bat anticoagulant, curated as Lactotransferrin (LTF), UniProt K9IMD0.
• First seed gene with a completed annotation review in this project.
• Anchors the project's hemostasis theme and serves as the template for reviewing the remaining secreted modulators.

Highlight: fibrinolytics & vasodilators

• t-plasminogen activator (K9IJK6) — fibrinolytic; the family behind bat-derived plasminogen-activator therapeutics; keeps the wound site clot-free.
• Natriuretic peptides B / CNP (K9IWC0) and PACAP (K9IGD6) — vasodilatory peptides that promote local blood flow.
• vCGRP — a calcitonin gene-related peptide-like vasodilatory peptide reported in the literature (Toxins 2019, Kakumanu et al.); DESRO transcript/UniProt mapping still pending.

Challenges of curating these proteins

• No Swiss-Prot entries for DESRO in this candidate set — every mapped entry is UniProtKB unreviewed (TrEMBL).
• Names are frequently "Putative ..." and based on homology, not direct functional evidence.
• Some Vampirome transcripts have no TSA/UniProt hit yet (e.g. several BatTrinityAbyss-* and DrSigp-SigP-* IDs; vCGRP unmapped).
• Original condensed Table 4 / supplemental spreadsheets are on a moved NIAID portal and not yet re-accessible.
• Function must be inferred carefully: salivary repurposing means the host-facing role can differ from the family's canonical role.

Status & future directions

Done:

• Project structure, Table 4 extract, UniProt mapping, candidate list (Swiss-Prot prioritized — none found).
• 13-candidate priority shortlist; UniProt/GOA fetched; falcon deep-research for all 13.
• Annotation reviews + notes for Draculin and the full shortlist; core_functions for Draculin, K9IZA2, K9IYM3, K9J287.

Next:

• Synthesize core functions across remaining candidates.
• Map unmapped transcripts (incl. vCGRP/CALCA) and recover full supplemental tables.
• Expand cross-links with PARASITE_IMMUNE_MODULATORS.