Search results for "Marine sponges"

Retinoid X receptor and retinoic acid response in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula

2003

SUMMARY To date no nuclear receptors have been identified or cloned from the phylogenetically oldest metazoan phylum, the Porifera (sponges). We show that retinoic acid causes tissue regression in intact individuals of the demosponge Suberites domuncula and in primmorphs, special three-dimensional cell aggregates. Primmorphs were cultivated on a galectin/poly-L-lysine matrix in order to induce canal formation. In the presence of 1 or 50 μmol l–1 retinoic acid these canals undergo regression, a process that is reversible. We also cloned the cDNA from S. domunculaencoding the retinoid X receptor (RXR), which displays the two motifs of nuclear hormone receptors, the ligand-binding and the DNA-…

The Shwartzman reaction repealed

2007

The article, “ -Galactosylceramide induces protection against lipopolysaccharide-induced shock” (doi:10.1189/jlb.0506298), was selected as a Pivotal Advance because the results suggest that -galactosylceramide ( GalCer), a glycolipid isolated from marine sponges, can protect against the complete morbidity and mortality characterisitic of endotoxin shock by inducing NKT cells to produce TH2 cytokines.

Screening of fractions from marine sponges and other invertebrates to identify new lead compounds with anti-tumor activity in lymphoma models

2020

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the commonest type of lymphomas, accounting for 30%-40% of new cases each year. Despite the big improvements achieved in the treatment, still 25–40% of patients still succumb due to refractory or relapsed disease. This highlights the need of new drugs for this cancer. The marine environment has recently been recognized as a source of anti-cancer compounds, as demonstrated by different marine drugs approved by different regulatory agencies (trabectedin, cytarabine, eribulin, plitidepsin) or as components of antibody drug conjugates for lymphoma patients (monomethyl auristatin E in polatuzumab vedotin and brentuximab vedotin). Here, we present a large …

Bioinspired synthesis of multifunctional inorganic and bio-organic hybrid materials

2012

Owing to their physical and chemical properties, inorganic functional materials have tremendous impacts on key technologies such as energy generation and storage, information, medicine, and automotive engineering. Nature, on the other hand, provides evolution-optimized processes, which lead to multifunctional inorganic–bio-organic materials with complex structures. Their formation occurs under physiological conditions, and is goverened by a combination of highly regulated biological processes and intrinsic chemical properties. Nevertheless, insights into the molecular mechanisms of biomineralization open up promising perspectives for bioinspired and biomimetic design and the development of …

Stress Response in Marine Sponges: Genes and Molecules Involved and Their use as Biomarkers

2000

Sponges (Porifera) are sessile filter feeders that are able to accumulate compounds from the surrounding water and thus are highly exposed to environmental stress by pollutants of both anthropogenic and natural origin. However, these animals possess a number of protective mechanisms against environmental stress, such as the expression of heat-shock proteins, the induction of the multi xenobiotic resistance mechanism, and the apoptotic elimination of cells. In the last years, a number of genes involved in the stress response of sponges have been cloned and characterized. In thischapter, the various molecular mechanisms by which cells of the lowest multicellular organisms—the marine sponges—r…

2018

Marine sponges are a very attractive and rich source in the production of novel bioactive compounds. The sponges exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities. The genus Amphimedon consists of various species, such as viridis, compressa, complanata, and terpenensis, along with a handful of undescribed species. The Amphimedon genus is a rich source of secondary metabolites containing diverse chemical classes, including alkaloids, ceramides, cerebrososides, and terpenes, with various valuable biological activities. This review covers the literature from January 1983 until January 2018 and provides a complete survey of all the compounds isolated from the genus Amphimedon and the associate…

Dispacamide E and other bioactive bromopyrrole alkaloids from two Indonesian marine sponges of the genus Stylissa.

2014

Chemical investigation of methanolic extracts of the two Indonesian marine sponges Stylissa massa and Stylissa flabelliformis yielded 25 bromopyrrole alkaloids including 2 new metabolites. The structures of all isolated compounds were unambiguously elucidated based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR, LR-MS and HR-MS analyses. All isolated compounds were assayed for their antiproliferative and protein kinase inhibitory activities. Several of the tested compounds revealed selective activity(ies) which suggested preliminary SARs of the isolated bromopyrrole alkaloids.

Expression of one sponge Iroquois homeobox gene in primmorphs from Suberites domuncula during canal formation

2003

SUMMARY Sponges (Porifera) represent the evolutionary oldest multicellular animals. They are provided with the basic molecules involved in cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions. We report here the isolation and characterization of a complementary DNA from the sponge Suberites domuncula coding for the sponge homeobox gene, SUBDOIRX-a. The deduced polypeptide with a predicted Mr of 44,375 possesses the highly conserved Iroquois-homeodomain. We applied in situ hybridization to localize Iroquois in the sponge. The expression of this gene is highest in cells adjacent to the canals of the sponge in the medulla region. To study the expression of Iroquois during development, the in vitro primmorph…