Search results for " Echinoderm"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Antimicrobial peptides from echinoderms as antibiofilm agents: a natural strategy to combat bacterial infections
2014
AbstractIncreased attention has been focused on marine invertebrates as a source of bioactive molecules for biomedical applications. Many bioactive molecules are part of the innate immune system. Some more recently isolated compounds, mainly from the sea urchin and the sea cucumber, are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. In this review we described the most recent studies on AMPs isolated from echinoderms. AMPs are small peptides (< 10 kDa) with cationic charge and amphipathic structure. Recently, it was demonstrated that in the coelomocyte lysates of Paracentrotus lividus and Holothuria tubulosa, AMPs possess activity against s…
Coexposure to sulfamethoxazole and cadmium impairs development and attenuates transcriptional response in sea urchin embryo
2017
Abstract Among sulfonamides, sulfamethoxazole represents one of the most widely employed. A considerable amount of sulfamethoxazole is introduced into the marine environment after utilization in aquaculture. The cytotoxicity of sulfamethoxazole relies mainly on arylhydroxylamine metabolites and it is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species. Cadmium represents a metal largely employed in several anthropic activities and it is toxic for all living organisms even at low concentrations. Since it is not degraded, cadmium irreversibly accumulates into cells. In order to understand the mechanisms of response to changes in the chemical environment, we investigated by light microsc…
Citocentrifugación como un método adicional para estudiar celomitos de equinodermos: un enfoque comparativo que combina células vivas, preparaciones …
2021
Abstract Introduction: Echinoderm coelomocytes have traditionally been investigated through a morphological approach using light microscopy, which relies on the idea of constant cell shape as a stable character. However, this can be affected by biotic or abiotic conditions. Objective: To analyze if the consistency in cell morphology offered by the cytocentrifugation method, might be used as a convenient tool to study echinoderm coelomocytes. Methods: Cells of Echinaster (Othilia) brasiliensis (Asteroidea), Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa (Holothuroidea), Eucidaris tribuloides, Arbacia lixula, Lytechinus variegatus, and Echinometra lucunter (Echinoidea) were spread on microscope slides by c…
DIVERSIFICATION OF HIPPO SIGNALING COMPONENTS IN SELECTED METAZOAN SPECIES
La via di segnalazione intracellulare conosciuta come Hippo pathway svolge un ruolo chiave nei processi che regolano il controllo della dimensione degli organi, la proliferazione, l’apoptosi, il mantenimento delle caratteristiche di staminalità cellulare. Alterazioni nel pathway sono state descritte in molti tipi di tumori. Il nome deriva da una delle sue componenti principali, la proteina chinasi Hippo (Hpo), identificata per la prima volta in Drosophila melanogaster. Mutazioni nel gene Hpo inducevano la crescita abnorme di tessuti e organi. Componenti del pathway Hippo sono stati successivamente individuati anche nei mammiferi. Gli elementi fondamentali sono costituiti dalla proteine chin…
Effects of Sulfamethoxazole on Fertilization and Embryo Development in the Arbacia lixula Sea Urchin
2022
To date, drugs released into the aquatic environment are a real problem, and among antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole is the one most widely found in wastewater; thus, the evaluation of its toxicity on marine organisms is very important. This study, for the first time, investigates the in vitro effects of 4 concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (0.05 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 5 mg/L, 50 mg/L) on the fertilization and development of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The gametes were exposed to drugs in three different stages: simultaneously with, prior to, and post-fertilization. The results show a significant reduction in the percentage of fertilized oocytes at the highest drug concentrations. Moreover, an incr…
Effects of cadmium exposure on sea urchin development assessed by SSH and RT-qPCR: metallothionein genes and their differential induction
2012
In order to study the defense strategies activated by Paracentrotus lividus embryos in response to sub-lethal doses of CdCl2, we compared the induced transcripts to that of control embryos by suppression subtractive hybridization technique. We isolated five metallothionein (MT) cDNAs and other genes related to detoxification, to signaling pathway components, to oxidative, reductive and conjugative biotransformation, to RNA maturation and protein synthesis. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that two of the five P. lividus MT (PlMT7 and PlMT8) genes appeared to be constitutively expressed and upregulated following cadmium treatment, whereas the other three genes (PlMT4, PlMT5, PlMT6) are specifically…
Apoptosis: focus on sea urchin development
2009
It has been proposed that the apoptosis is an essential requirement for the evolution of all animals, in fact the apoptotic program is highly conserved from nematodes to mammals. Throughout development, apoptosis is employed by multicellular organisms to eliminate damaged or unnecessary cells. Here, we will discuss both developmental programmed cell death (PCD) under normal conditions and stress induced apoptosis, in sea urchin embryos. Sea urchin represent an excellent model system for studying embryogenesis and cellular processes involved in metamorphosis. PCD plays an essential role in sculpting and remodelling the embryos and larvae undergoing metamorphosis. Moreover, this marine organi…
Humoral responses during wound healing in Holothuria tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788)
2021
Abstract Wounds in living organisms trigger tissue-repair mechanisms. The sea cucumber (Holoturia tubulosa) is an excellent model species for achieving a better understanding of the humoral and cellular aspects involved in such healing processes. Consequently, this study assesses data on its morphometric, physiological and humoral responses 1, 2, 6, 24 and 48h after wound induction. In particular, morphometric data on the weight, width, length and coelomic-fluid volume of the species were estimated at different times during our experiments. In addition, the humoral aspects related to the enzymatic activity of esterase, alkaline phosphatase and peroxidase, as well as the cytotoxic activity o…
Biological and Proteomic Characterization of the Anti-Cancer Potency of Aqueous Extracts from Cell-Free Coelomic Fluid of Arbacia lixula Sea Urchin i…
2022
Echinoderms are an acknowledged source of bioactive compounds exerting various beneficial effects on human health. Here, we examined the potential in vitro anti-hepatocarcinoma effects of aqueous extracts of the cell-free coelomic fluid obtained from the sea urchin Arbacia lixula using the HepG2 cell line as a model system. This was accomplished by employing a combination of colorimetric, microscopic and flow cytometric assays to determine cell viability, cell cycle distribution, the possible onset of apoptosis, the accumulation rate of acidic vesicular organelles, mitochondrial polarization, cell redox state and cell locomotory ability. The obtained data show that exposed HepG2 cells under…
An Upper Mississippian echinoderm microfauna from the Genicera Formation of northern León (Carboniferous, Cantabrian Mountains, N Spain)
2020
For the first time an echinoderm microfauna is recorded from the cephalopod limestone facies (‘griotte facies’) of the lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) Genicera Fm. (Alba Fm.). The formation is widespread in the Cantabrian Mountains in NW Spain, but the ossicles are from some sections in the surroundings of the Bernesga valley in northern León. They have been derived from insoluble acetic acid residues from samples of the upper and especially of the uppermost part of the formation (Canalón Mb. and Millaró Beds). The microfauna include taxonomically treated wheel-shaped ossicles, sieve-plates and rods of holothurians, goniodonts of ophiocistioids, and ophiuroid and stenuroid skeletal elem…