Search results for "Urochordata"
showing 10 items of 26 documents
The ascidian Styela plicata hemocytes as a potential biomarker of marine pollution: In vitro effects of seawater and organic mercury.
2017
Toxic metals, such as mercury, contribute substantially to anthropogenic pollution in many estuarine environments. Animals living in those environments, particularly invertebrate filter feeders like tunicates, can be used as bioindicators. In an attempt to identify cellular markers for revealing pollution, this study examined in vitro the effects of different concentrations of methyl mercury on Styela plicata hemocytes. The harvested hemocytes from S. plicata that were exposed to the metal had a significant mortality, cellular count and morphometric alterations. These findings provided evidence of MeHg immunotoxic effects on S. plicata, resulting in hemocyte death and morphological changes …
Binding of concanavalin A to the surface of unfertilized and fertilized ascidian eggs.
1973
STUDIES with certain carbohydrate-binding proteins of plant origin (as concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin) have indicated that some surface properties of embryonic1,2 and of virally transformed cells3–6 are different from those of adult cells. The interpretation of the differences in terms of structural organization of the cell surface is, however, still controversial (see for example refs. 7 and 8).
Insight into the Mechanism of Action of Marine Cytotoxic Thiazinoquinones
2017
The electrochemical response of four natural cytotoxic thiazinoquinones isolated from the Aplidium species was studied using conventional solution-phase and solid-state techniques, based on the voltammetry of immobilized particles methodology. The interaction with O-2 and electrochemically generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) was electrochemically monitored. At the same time, a molecular modeling study including density functional theory (DFT) calculations was performed in order to analyze the conformational and electronic properties of the natural thiazinoquinones, as well as those of their reduced intermediates. The obtained electrochemical and computational results were analyzed and c…
Ultrastructural aspects of naturally occurring wound in the tunic of two ascidians: Ciona intestinalis and Styela plicata (Tunicata).
2015
Efficient wound healing is essential for all animals from insects to mammals. Ciona intestinalis and Styela plicata are solitary ascidians belonging to urochordates, a subphylum that occupies a key phylogenetic position as it includes the closest relative to vertebrates. Urochordate first physical barrier against invaders is the tunic, an extracellular matrix that is constantly exposed to all kinds of insults. Thus, when damage occurs, an innate immune response is triggered to eliminate impaired tissue and potentially pathogenic microbes, and restore tissue functionality. Ultrastructural aspects of the tunic in the wound healing process of two ascidians are described. In the injured areas, …
D-Galactose binding lectins from the tunicate Ascidiamalaca: Subunit characterization and hemocyte surface distribution
1988
Abstract D-galactose specific lectins purified from Ascidia malaca serum contain a major protein component with an apparent molecular weight of about 58,000 daltons, which moves more rapidly under non-reducing conditions. Intramolecular disulfide linkages can explain this behaviour, suggesting a compact protein structure. Membrane lectins have been demonstrated on the surface of about 34% hemocytes by immunofluorescent methods using a rabbit antiserum against the isolated serum lectins. Small, medium and large hemocytes can be positive, as also shown by binding on Sepharose spherules or by rosette formation with sheep and rabbit erythrocytes. Binding is inhibited by the same sugars specific…
Bisphenol A (BPA) and atrazine inhibit the embryonic development ofCiona intestinalis(Ascidiacea, Urochordata)
2013
The toxicities of bisphenol A (BPA) and atrazine in Ciona intestinalis development were examined in two separate series of experiments. The fertilized eggs were exposed to BPA or atrazine at concen...
A urochordate putative homolog of human EB1, the protein which binds APC1
1996
Abstract The human EB1 protein has been cloned by virtue of its interaction with the C-terminus of the APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) protein, whose C-terminal truncated forms have been shown to accompany sporadic and familial forms of colorectal cancer. We have cloned a putative EB1 homolog from Botryllus schlosseri (Urochordata, Ascidiacea). The deduced protein is 287 amino acids long, and is identical with 48% of the residues in human EB1 and 24–25% in two yeast hypothetical proteins. We propose that such a high degree of conservation among EB1 homologs is indicative of an essential regulatory mechanism in eukaryotic cells.
A novel tunicate (Botryllus schlosseri) putative C-type lectin features an immunoglobulin domain.
1997
We have cloned a putative C-type lectin of Botryllus schlosseri [Ascidiacea], whose deduced protein of 333 amino acids features three building blocks: (i) a Greek-key motif signature at the amino-terminus, (ii) a C-type lectin domain signature, and (iii) an immunoglobulin (Ig) domain at the carboxyl terminus. This C-type lectin was termed BSCLT. Similarity searches revealed that the Ig domain in BSCLT, which is evidently not polymorphic, is best classified as an Intermediate-type Ig domain. Rabbit antibodies, raised against recombinant BSCLT, cross-reacted in a Western blot with a 38-kD polypeptide in tunicate crude extract. Presumably, this bimodal tunicate protein is the first description…
Phenoloxidase-dependent cytotoxic mechanism in ascidian (Styela plicata) hemocytes active against erythrocytes and K562 tumor cells.
1997
The cytotoxic activity against rabbit erythrocytes (RE) and human K562 tumor cells by Styela plicata hemocytes was significantly related to the phenoloxidase (PO) which converts phenols to quinone and initiates the melanogenic pathway. The effector hemocyte population, separated in a Percoll density gradient band, enriched in a granulocyte type named "morula cells", was examined with RE in a hemocyte cytotoxic assay and plaque forming cell assay. Inhibition experiments with the copper chelating agents 1-phenyl-2-thiourea and tropolone, the substrate analogue sodium benzoate and sodium ascorbate support the notion that hemocyte cytotoxic activity is a PO-dependent mechanism. Treatments of he…
Carbohydrate binding specificity and purification by biospecific affinity chromatography of Ascidiamalaca traust. Hemagglutinins
1982
The carbohydrate specificities of Ascidia malaca serum hemagglutinins were determined by hemagglutination inhibition tests. Analysis of agglutinins against rabbit and human A, B, O erythrocytes suggests that the size of the combining site corresponds to a disaccharide with a specificity for saccharides containing a D-galacto configuration (D-melibiose, D-raffinose, D-galactose, alpha-lactose, lactulose, L-arabinose). No anomeric specificity was observed with oligosaccharides. Hydroxyl groups probably involved in hydrogen-bond formation with agglutinin binding site, were identified as carbons C2, C4, C5 and C6 of D-galactose. Absorption experiments showed that two distinct agglutinins with s…