CHEMICAL POLLUTION FROM DUMPED ORDNANCE

Nichel,piombo e cadmio inducono risposte cellulari differenti, attivando la sintesi di differenti HSP70 in embrioni di ricci di mare

Toxicity of manganese on embryos of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus.

Immune cells from sea urchins for the analysis of the effects of UV-B radiation

Sea urchin as in vivo model for the assessment of Manganese effect in embryos development

Cellular and molecular bases of biomineralization in sea urchin embryos

Sea urchin embryos construct their skeleton following a precise gene-regulated time- and space-dependent programme, in concert with factors promoting cell adhesion and differentiation. The biomineral is deposited in a privileged extracellular space produced by the fused filopodia processes of the primary mesenchyme cells, the only cells producing a set of necessary matrix proteins. More than ten years ago we showed for the first time that signals from ectoderm cells promoted the expression of one of the major skeleton matrix genes by the primary mesenchyme cells. Since then, many of the crucial steps of this complex activation cascade, from ectoderm cells to embryonic spicules, have been el…

Sea urchin embryos as an in vivo model for the assessment of manganese toxicity: developmental and stress response effects.

Manganese (Mn), one of the most abundant metals in nature present in rocks, soil and water, is also found in soft bottom sediments of the oceans. It represents a trace element that is accumulated and utilized by all forms of life and plays multiple roles ranging from bone mineralization to cellular protection. Although Mn is an essential nutrient, exposure of cells/organisms to high levels of Mn cause toxicity. In the marine environment, increased concentrations of bio-available Mn often result from anthropogenic activities, and consequently, Mn represents a new important factor in environmental contamination. Emission of Mn into the marine environment occurs from metallurgic and chemical i…

Nickel, lead, and cadmium induce differential cellular responses in sea urchin embryos by activating the synthesis of different HSP70s.

Treatment with heavy metals, such as nickel, lead or cadmium, elicits different cellular stress responses according to the metal used and the length of treatment. In Paracentrotus lividus embryos the inducible forms of HSP70 (HSP70/72) are different in molecular mass from the constitutively expressed HSP75, and they can be used as markers of cellular stress. Even a short treatment with each metal induces the synthesis of HSP70/72 which remain stable for at least 20 h and differ little in their isoelectric points. Continuous treatment from fertilization with nickel or lead produces late irregular pluteus embryos, with peak HSP70/72 synthesis at blastula followed by the arrest of synthesis by…

Manganese: A New Emerging Contaminant in the Environment

The environment is composed of the atmosphere, earth and water. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100,000 chemicals are released into the global ambient every year as a consequence of their production, use and disposal. The fate of a chemical substance depends on its chemical application and physical-chemical properties, in combination with the characteristics of the environment where it is released. Chemical substances or contaminants discharged into the environment may be “natural” or “manmade”. One of the most misunderstood concepts regarding contamination is the missinterpretation of term “natural”. A “natural” contaminant is one substance that can occur without huma…

Sea urchin embryos as an in vivo model for the assessment of manganese toxicity: developmental and stress response effects.

In the marine environment increasing concentrations of bio-available compounds often result from anthropogenic activities. Among metal ions, manganese represents a new emergent factor in environmental contamination. Here, we studied the effects of manganese on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos using biological and biochemical approaches for the analysis of impact on development, tissue accumulation and stress markers. Embryos were continuously exposed from fertilization to manganese at concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 61.6 mg l(-1), monitored for developmental abnormalities at 48 h after fertilization, and used for atomic spectrometric analysis at various times from 6 to 72 h. We f…

Trauma stress and manganese exposure induce cellular and biochemical modulations in the European sea star Asterias rubens

Adult Haemotopoietic/immune stem cells in Echinoderms

Monitoring chemical and physical stress using sea urchin immune cells.

Coelomocytes are the cells freely circulating in the body fluid contained in echinoderm coelom and constitute the defence system, which, in response to injuries, host invasion, and adverse conditions, is capable of chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and production of cytotoxic metabolites. Red and colourless amoebocytes, petaloid and philopodial phagocytes, and vibratile cells are the cell types that, in different proportions, constitute the mixed coelomocyte cell population found in sea urchins. Advances in cellular and molecular biology have made it possible to identify a number of specific proteins expressed in coelomocytes under resting conditions or when activated by experimentally induced stre…

Biotecnologie e monitoraggio ambientale: sviluppo e applicazione di biomarcatori molecolari.

Hsp70 as a Stress Marker for the Assessment of TNT-Exposure in Paracentrotus lividus: a Case Study in the Tremiti Islands Marine Protected Area

Cellular and biochemical responses of sea stars to trauma stress and regeneration

Manganese Toxicity: sea urchin embryos and Stress Response Effects.

Stress and apoptosis in sea urchin coelomocytes short term cultures exposed to UV-B radiation

Manganese interferes with calcium, perturbs ERK signaling, and produces embryos with no skeleton.

Manganese (Mn) has been associated with embryo toxicity as it impairs differentiation of neural and skeletogenic cells in vertebrates. Nevertheless, information on the mechanisms operating at the cellular level remains scant. We took advantage of an amenable embryonic model to investigate the effects of Mn in biomineral formation. Sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) embryos were exposed to Mn from fertilization, harvested at different developmental stages, and analyzed for their content in calcium (Ca), expression of skeletogenic genes, localization of germ layer markers, and activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). By optical and immunofluorescence microscopy, we found…

Skeleton growth inhibition in sea urchin embryos Paracentrotus lividus after manganese exposure.

In the sea urchin embryos, skeleton is specified by interactions between PMCs and patterning cues derived from the ectoderm. PMCs use spatial and temporal information to organize the proper animal-vegetal and oral-aboral position and orientation of the two tri-radiate skeletal spicules. Many experiments have demonstrated that exposure to metals, such as lithium, zinc and nickel, can disrupt skeleton patterning information. Here, we have investigated the effects of manganese (Mn) on Paracentrotus lividus embryo development. We found that Mn exposure prevents skeleton growth producing spicule-lacking embryos. Normal skeleton growth was partially rescued after Mn removal from the culture. To d…

Sea urchin coelomocytes as a novel cellular biosensor of environmental stress: a field study in the Tremiti Island Marine Protected Area, Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy

The aim of the present study was to investigate on the suitability of the sea urchin as a sentinel organism for the assessment of the macro-zoobenthos health state in bio-monitoring programmes. A field study was carried out during two oceanographic campaigns using immuno-competent cells, the coelomocytes, from sea urchins living in a marine protected area. In particular, coelomocytes subpopulations ratio and heat shock protein 70 (HSC70) levels were measured in specimens of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamark, 1816) collected in two sampling sites, namely Pianosa and Caprara Islands, both belonging to the Tremiti Island Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy. By density g…

Dosi citotossiche di manganese ed effetti sullo sviluppo embrionale. Modello sperimentale: Riccio di mare Paracentrotus lividus

DOSI CITOTOSSICHE DI MANGANESE ED EFFETTI SULLO SVILUPPO EMBRIONALE. MODELLO SPERIMENTALE: RICCIO DI MARE PARACENTROTUS LIVIDUS Annalisa Pinsino1, Francesca Trinchella2, Maria Carmela Roccheri1 1 Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e dello Sviluppo “A. Monroy”, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italia 2 Dipartimento delle Scienze Biologiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italia Il manganese (Mn) è uno degli elementi più abbondanti in natura, presente nelle rocce, nel suolo e nelle acque. E’ un elemento in traccia appartenente alla categoria dei nutrienti o metalli essenziali; utilizzato ed accumulato da tutte le forme di vita, è coinvolto nel normale funzionamento di meccani…

Impacts of UV-B radiation on short-term cultures of sea urchin coelomocytes

Three specialized cell types constitute the heterogeneous population present in the coelomic cavity fluid of sea urchins. The list includes: phagocytes, which undergo a stress-induced petaloid-filopodial transition, white or red amoebocytes and vibratile cells. As a whole, they act as the immune defense system of the sea urchin and respond to environmental and experimental challenge triggering specific stress markers. Here we extended our studies on coelomocytes short-term cultures by describing the morphology and occurrence of each cell type and analyzing their response to UV-B radiation at the biochemical level and with respect to DNA damage. The effects of different doses, ranging from 5…

The effects of manganese on embryos of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus: stress or not?.

Manganese overload affects p38 MAPK phosphorylation and metalloproteinase activity during sea urchin embryonic development.

Abstract In the marine environment, manganese represents a potential emerging contaminant, resulting from an increased production of manganese-containing compounds. In earlier reports we found that the exposure of Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos to manganese produced phenotypes with no skeleton. In addition, manganese interfered with calcium uptake, perturbed extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling, affected the expression of skeletogenic genes, and caused an increase of the hsc70 and hsc60 protein levels. Here, we extended our studies focusing on the temporal activation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and the proteolytic activity of metalloprot…

Immune cells from sea urchins as biosensors for monitoring physical and chemical stress.

Correction to: Echinodermata: The Complex Immune System in Echinoderms

Echinodermata: The complex immune system in echinoderms

View references (418) The Echinodermata are an ancient phylum of benthic marine invertebrates with a dispersal-stage planktonic larva. These animals have innate immune systems characterized initially by clearance of foreign particles, including microbes, from the body cavity of both larvae and adults, and allograft tissue rejection in adults. Immune responsiveness is mediated by a variety of adult coelomocytes and larval mesenchyme cells. Echinoderm diseases from a range of pathogens can lead to mass die-offs and impact aquaculture, but some individuals can recover. Genome sequences of several echinoderms have identified genes with immune function, including expanded families of Toll-like r…

Manganese effects on sea urchin embryos.

Coelomocytes and post-traumatic response in the common sea star Asterias rubens.

Coelomocytes are recognized as the main cellular component of the echinoderm immune system. They are the first line of defense and their number and type can vary dramatically during infections or following injury. Sea stars have been used as a model system to study the regeneration process after autotomy or predation. In the present study we examined the cellular and biochemical responses of coelomocytes from the European sea star Asterias rubens to traumatic stress using immunochemical and biochemical approaches. In terms of trauma and post-traumatic stress period, here we consider the experimental arm amputation and the repair phase involved in the first 24 hours post-amputation, which mi…

Esposizione ad inquinanti rilasciati da residui bellici in cellule adulte immuno-competenti di Paracentrotus lividus: risposta cellulare ed espressione di marcatori di stress

Rapid changes in heat-shock cognate 70 levels, heat-shock cognate phosphorylation state, heat-shock transcription factor, and metal transcription factor activity levels in response to heavy metal exposure during sea urchin embryonic development.

The aim of the present study was to analyze and compare the effects of several metals on the embryos of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, a key species within the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem. Embryos were continuously exposed from fertilization to the following metals: 0.6 mg/l copper, 3 mg/l lead, and 6 mg/l nickel. The embryos were then monitored for metal responses at the gastrula stage, which occurred 24 h after exposure. A biochemical multi-experimental approach was taken and involved the investigation of the levels of HSC70 expression and the involvement of heat shock factor (HSF) and/or metal transcription factor (MTF) in the response. Immunoblotting assays and electrophoretic mo…

Manganese effects on haematopoietic cells and circulating coelomocytes of Asterias rubens (Linnaeus)

Abstract Manganese (Mn) is a naturally abundant metal in marine sediments where it mainly occurs as MnO 2 . During hypoxic conditions it is converted into a bioavailable state, Mn 2+ , and can reach levels that previously have shown effects on immune competent cells of the crustacean, Nephrops norvegicus . Here we investigated if Mn also affects circulating coelomocytes and their renewal in the common sea star, Asterias rubens , when exposed to concentrations of Mn that can be found in nature. When the sea stars were exposed to Mn it accumulated in the coelomic fluid and the number of circulating coelomocytes, in contrast to what was recorded in Nephrops , increased significantly. By using …

Exposure to cytotoxic concentrations of manganese and effects on development

Manganese is one of the most abundant metals present in nature in trace amounts, which is accumulated and utilized by all forms of life. It plays a multitude of biological roles, but exposure of cells/organisms to high levels causes toxicity. In the marine environment, increasing concentrations of bio-available ions often result from anthropogenic activities, and, consequently, manganese represents a new emergent factor in environmental contamination. To study cyto-toxicity of manganese on development, we used an excellent model system as sea urchin embryos Paracentrotus lividus. In this work, we show results from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) analysis that highlighted qualitati…