Tomoji Igarashi

Biological activities of prymnesin‐2 isolated from a red tide alga Prymnesium parvum

Previously we isolated prymnesin-1 (PRM1) and prymnesin-2 (PRM2) as the major hemolytic and ichthyotoxic agents in the red tide organism Prymnesium parvum and disclosed the structure of PRM2 as a novel glycoside with unusual multiple functionality. PRM2 caused 50% hemolysis of a 1% suspension of dog red blood cells at 0.5 nM. The potency exceeded that of plant saponin by 50000 times. The lethality of PRM2 on freshwater fish Tanichthys albonubes was comparable to that of brevetoxin and also the ichthyotoxicity was markedly enhanced by Ca2+ and by a slight elevation of pH: LC50 in a Ca2+ free medium (pH 7.0) was 300 nM and in the presence of 2 mM Ca2+ (pH 8.0) was 3 nM. The hemolytic activity of PRM2 was not affected by Ca2+ but was markedly affected by blood cell origin. Also, the observation of competitive inhibition by the PRM2 analogues allowed us to assume the presence of a specific binding site on the blood cell surface.

Quantitative determination of marine toxins associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Quantitative determination by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) was achieved for the following 10 toxins found in association with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning: okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1), 7-O-palmitoylokadaic acid (palOA), 7-O-palmitoyldinophysistoxin-1 (pa1DTX1), pectenotoxin-1 (PTX1), pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), pectenotoxin-2 seco acid (PTX2SA), pectenotoxin-6 (PTX6), yessotoxin (YTX), and 45-hydroxyyessotoxin (YTXOH). Toxins in 2 g of the adductor muscle or the digestive glands of scallops, Patinopecten yessoensis, were extracted with 18 ml of methanol-water (9:1, v/v), freed of polar contaminants by partition between chloroform and water, and treated by solid-phase extraction on a silica cartridge column. Samples containing YTXOH were purified separately on a buffered reversed-phase column. Chromatographic separation was achieved by the following combinations of columns and mobile phases: a Symmetry C18 column with acetonitrile-0.05% acetic acid (7:3, v/v) for OA, DTX1, PTX6 and PTX2SA; a Develosil ODS column with the same mobile phase for PTX1 and PTX2; a Capcellpak column with methanol-2.5% acetic acid (98:2, v/v) for palOA and palDTX1; and an Inertsil ODS column with methanol-0.2 M ammonium acetate (8:2, v/v) for YTX and YTXOH. Carboxylic acid toxins were selectively monitored on [M-H]- ions, sulfated toxins on [M-Na]-ions, and neutral toxins on [M+NH4]+ ions. Average recoveries of the toxins spiked to tissue homogenates ranged from 70 to 134%. Detection limits in the muscle ranged from 5 to 40 ng/g and those in the digestive glands from 10 to 80 ng/g.

Mechanisms underlying the hemolytic and ichthyotoxic activities of maitotoxin

Maitotoxin (MTX), a putative Ca(2+) channel activator produced by the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus showed extremely potent hemolytic and ichthyotoxic activities. Hemolysis of 1% mouse blood cell suspension in saline occurred at 15 nM of MTX. The activity was enhanced six-fold in the presence of 10 microM of Ca(2+) and completely blocked by EDTA2Na, indicating its dependency on external Ca(2+). The MTX-induced hemolysis was little affected by L-type Ca(2+) channel blockers (diltiazem, nifedipine, verapamil) but was strongly inhibited by calmodulin blockers (prenylamine and chlorpromazine) or a phospholipase A2 inhibitor (quinacrine). MTX was mimicked by a calcium ionophore, calcimycin. Based on these results, a series of cellular events triggered by MTX were presumed to occur in the following sequence: increased Ca(2+) entry in cells, activation of calmodulin, promotion of phospholipase A2 activity, and finally destruction of cell membrane resulting from hydrolysis of membrane lipids. The sensitivity of blood cells to MTX varied significantly, dependent on the animal sources. Nucleated blood cells of carps and chickens were 100 times more resistant than those of mammals. LC(50) of MTX to freshwater fish Tanichthys albonubes in Ca(2+) free media (pH 8) was 5 nM but was markedly lowered to 3 pM by raising pH to 8 and increasing Ca(2+) concentration to 2 mM. In a marine environment MTX was 2000 times more toxic to fish than 42-di-hydrobrevetoxin-B (PbTx-3), one of the best known ichthyotoxins of red-tide origins.

Kinetics of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins, okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin‐1, pectenotoxin‐6 and yessotoxin in scallops Patinopecten yessoensis

Four toxins, okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1), pectenotoxin-6 (PTX6), and yessotoxin (YTX), all associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP), were administered via syringe to Scallops Patinopecten yessoensis and their distribution in the hepatopancreas, adductor muscle, and combined other tissues (mantle, gill, gonad) was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Toxins exclusively remained in the hepatopancreas irrespective of the injection site, adductor muscle or hepatopancreas. When injected into hepatopancreas, OA, DTX1, and YTX were metabolized to 7-O-palmitoylOA, 7-O-palmitoylDTX1 and 45-hydroxyyessotoxin (45OH-YTX), respectively. Such metabolic changes were insignificant when toxins were injected into the adductor muscle. The residual ratio for each toxin in the hepatopancreas was less than 20%. Mortalities of scallops treated with PTX6 were lower than those treated with other toxins.

Absolute Quantification of Lipophilic Shellfish Toxins by Quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Using Removable Internal Reference Substance with SI Traceability

Okadaic acid (OA), a lipophilic shellfish toxin, was accurately quantified using quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance with internal standards for the development of an authentic reference standard. Pyridine and the residual proton in methanol-d4 were used as removable internal standards to limit any contamination. They were calibrated based on a maleic acid certified reference material. Thus, the concentration of OA was traceable to the SI units through accurate quantitative NMR with an internal reference substance. Signals from the protons on the oxygenated and unsaturated carbons of OA were used for quantification. A reasonable accuracy was obtained by integrating between the lower and upper (13)C satellite signal range when more than 4 mg of OA was used. The best-determined purity was 97.4% (0.16% RSD) when 20 mg of OA was used. Dinophysistoxin-1, a methylated analog of OA having an almost identical spectrum, was also quantified by using the same methodology.

Quantitative 31 P NMR Method for Individual and Concomitant Determination of Phospholipid Classes in Polar Lipid Samples

Herein, to achieve individual and concomitant quantifications of phospholipid classes, an absolute quantification 31P NMR method using an internal standard was examined. Phospholipid standards and dietary foods were dispersed to prepare test solutions in an anionic surfactant (sodium cholate) solution containing EDTA, as a modification based on a reported method. Each phospholipid class showed a reproducible chemical shift at a near-neutral test solution pH of 6.90±0.04 and temperature of 30.0±0.1°C. The quantity of synthetic phosphatidylcholine measured using 31P NMR was consistent with that measured by 1H NMR using an internal standard. As the principal phospholipid class of soybean and egg yolk lecithin is phosphatidylcholine, the measurement conditions of 31P NMR (pulse interval time and number of scans) were optimized such that minor phospholipids, including lysophospholipids, also present in lecithin could be quantified simultaneously. Phospholipid classes in commercial polar lipid samples derived from porcine brain, yeast, and soybean were individually quantified using the above conditions. Using phosphoserine as the internal standard material allowed the absolute molar quantity of the phospholipid class to be precisely determined with traceability to the SI. The determined molar amounts of phospholipid classes were then translated to the weight amount by assuming that each phospholipid class contained two stearic acid molecules as the constituent fatty acid. The calculated total contents of each phospholipid class by 31P NMR were in good agreement with those obtained by molybdenum blue colorimetry. Furthermore, the quantitative values of the principal phospholipid classes in the polar lipid samples obtained by 31P NMR corresponded in a broad view, however, was more informative for the separation of individual phospholipid species rather than the quantitative 2D thin-layer chromatography.