Effect of toxin of Prymnesium patelliferum on neurotransmitter transport mechanisms: development of a sensitive test method

In vitro neuropharmacological evaluation of penitrem-induced tremorgenic syndromes: importance of the GABAergic system

The effects of the fungal neurotoxin penitrem A on the GABAergic and glutamatergic systems in rat brain were evaluated. Penitrem A inhibited binding of the GABA(A)-receptor ligand [³H]TBOB to rat forebrain and cerebellar membrane preparations with IC₅₀ (half maximal inhibitory concentration) values of 11 and 9 μM, respectively. Furthermore, penitrem A caused a concentration-dependent increase of [³H]flunitrazepam and [³H]muscimol binding in rat forebrain, but not in cerebellar preparations. The stimulation of [³H]flunitrazepam binding by penitrem A was abolished by the addition of GABA. In cerebellar preparations, a different pharmacological profile was found, with penitrem A allosterically inhibiting [³H]TBOB binding by interacting with a bicuculline-sensitive site. Moreover, penitrem A inhibited the high affinity uptake of GABA and glutamate into cerebellar synaptosomes with IC₅₀ values of 20 and 47 μM, respectively. The toxin showed no effect on NMDA or AMPA glutamate receptor binding. In conclusion, our results suggest that penitrem A exerts region-specific effects in the brain, leading to positive modulation of GABA(A)-receptor function in forebrain. Conversely, penitrem A may act as a bicuculline-like convulsant in cerebellum.

Prymnesins: toxic metabolites of the golden alga, Prymnesium parvum Carter (Haptophyta)

Increasingly over the past century, seasonal fish kills associated with toxic blooms of Prymnesium parvum have devastated aquaculture and native fish, shellfish, and mollusk populations worldwide. Protracted blooms of P. parvum can result in major disturbances to the local ecology and extensive monetary losses. Toxicity of this alga is attributed to a collection of compounds known as prymnesins, which exhibit potent cytotoxic, hemolytic, neurotoxic and ichthyotoxic effects. These secondary metabolites are especially damaging to gill-breathing organisms and they are believed to interact directly with plasma membranes, compromising integrity by permitting ion leakage. Several factors appear to function in the activation and potency of prymnesins including salinity, pH, ion availability, and growth phase. Prymnesins may function as defense compounds to prevent herbivory and some investigations suggest that they have allelopathic roles. Since the last extensive review was published, two prymnesins have been chemically characterized and ongoing investigations are aimed at the purification and analysis of numerous other toxic metabolites from this alga. More information is needed to unravel the mechanisms of prymnesin synthesis and the significance of these metabolites. Such work should greatly improve our limited understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of P. parvum and how to mitigate its blooms.

A toxic extract of the marine phytoflagellate Prymnesium parvum induces calcium-dependent release of glutamate from rat brain synaptosomes

Blooms of the marine phytoflagellate Prymnesium parvum produced mass mortality of fish in Norway and many other parts of the world. The effects of a purified algae extract of P. parvum on transmitter release from rat brain synaptosomes were studied to characterize its toxic action. Synaptosomes are detached nerve terminals and represent a simple system that has retained the machinery for uptake, synthesis, storage, and release of neurotransmitters. A crude methanol extract of P. parvum was purified by reverse-phase column for fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). The purified extract stimulated Ca2+-dependent spontaneous release of glutamate in a concentration-dependent manner. The release was increased by addition of extracellular Ca2+. The release of glutamate was suppressed by the Ca2+-channel blockers flunarizine (10 microM), diltiazem (10 microM), and verapamil (10 microM). The stimulation of release of glutamate from rat brain synaptosomes induced by the toxin may be due to an ionophorelike property of the algae extract such as previously reported for the potent algal toxin maitotoxin. At high concentrations the toxin primarily acts as a powerful lytic agent.

The effect of polychlorinated biphenyls on the high affinity uptake of the neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate and GABA, into rat brain synaptosomes

Studies have shown that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) may affect cognitive functions both in human and also in experimental animals. We have investigated whether this effect could be caused by an inhibition of the uptake of selected neurotransmitters into rat brain synaptosomes. Ortho-chlorinated biphenyls were found to inhibit transmitter transport into synaptosomes from rat brain. In contrast, several nonortho-chlorinated biphenyls did not inhibit uptake. The uptake of dopamine, glutamate, GABA and serotonin was inhibited by the PCB mixtures, Aroclor 1242 and 1254. Under identical condition, the uptake of dopamine was inhibited more efficient than that of glutamate. The inhibition of neurotransmitter uptake was found to be dependent on the chlorination patterns of the PCB congeners, (i) ortho-chlorinated PCBs with four to five chlorine substituents (with the exception of 2,2',6,6'-TeCB) were the most effective inhibitors; (ii) hexa- or heptachlorinated PCBs were poor inhibitors or partial inhibitors (e.g. 2,2',4,4',5,5'-HCB) of glutamate and GABA uptake. Kinetic studies indicated that Aroclor 1242 inhibited dopamine uptake mainly competitively. The uptake of glutamate and GABA was inhibited in either a mixed competitive or in a non-competitive way, respectively. The neurotoxic consequences of the effect of different PCBs on neurotransmitter uptake on the uptake into synaptosomes are discussed.

The effects of a purified toxic extract of Prymnesium patelliferum on transport of ions through the plasma membrane of synaptosomes

Extract of the ichthyotoxic marine alga Prymnesium patelliferum has been shown to have several different effects on the transport of neurotransmitters across nerve membranes. It inhibits the sodium dependent uptake of L-glutamate and GABA and enhances the calcium-dependent release of acetylcholine. We have therefore investigated the effects of a purified toxic extract of P. patelliferum on some membrane properties using rat brain synaptosomes. We found that under conditions where the algal extract inhibited the uptake of L-glutamate, it increased the intracellular concentrations of Na+ and Ca2+, stimulated efflux of K+ determined as 86Rb efflux, and depolarized the synaptosomal membrane. There was no effect on Na+/K(+)-ATPase or ouabain-insensitive ATPase activities. Further, there was no leakage of the cytosolic marker LDH, indicating that the various effects of the algal extract were not due to nonspecific leakage or lysis of the synaptosomes. The rise in the cytosolic concentration of free Ca2+ induced by the algal extract was dependent on extracellular Ca2+, and was inhibited by flunarizine (1-100 microM) but not by the Ca2+ channel blockers omega-conotoxin GVIA (1 microM), diltiazem (100 microM), nifedipine (100 microM) or verapamil (100-500 microM). The increase in Na+ influx induced by the algal extract was insensitive to tetrodotoxin (3 microM) and procaine (100 microM), whereas both the Na+ influx and the membrane depolarization were inhibited by flunarizine (1-100 microM). The increase in K+ efflux was insensitive to flunarizine (5-100 microM). From these results it appears that the toxic extract of P. patelliferum increases the permeability of synaptosomes to Ca2+, Na+ and K+ and that these effects may be responsible for the plasma membrane depolarization and the disturbance of the neurotransmitter transport processes.

Toxicity of four potentially ichthyotoxic marine phytoflagellates determined by four different test methods

The toxicity of the marine phytoflagellates Prymnesium parvum. Prymnesium patelliferum, Chrysochromulina polylepis, and Chrysochromulina leadbeateri isolated from ichthyotoxic blooms in Norwegian coastal waters was compared using four different test methods developed for the detection of toxins produced by these species. The test methods were (1) lethality to the crustacean Artemia salina exposed to living algae, (2) hemolytic activity (lysis of human erythrocytes) by crude algal lipid extracts, and inhibition of the uptake of the neurotransmitters L-glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) into (3) synaptosomes and (4) synaptic vesicles of rat brain by crude algal lipid extracts. All test methods indicated different levels of toxicity among the algal species. Prymnesium parvum, P. patelliferum, and C. polylepis were toxic as determined by all four test methods. The cultured strain of C. leadbeateri, although isolated from a toxic algal bloom, appeared nontoxic by the methods used here, and served as a negative control. The hemolytic activity of P. parvum extract was about nine times higher than that of P. patelliferum extract, whereas the activity was only two to three times higher using the other three methods. Chrysochromulina polylepis had higher toxic activity than P. patelliferum except for less inhibitory effect on synaptosomes. The inhibition of synaptosomal and vesicular neurotransmitter uptake systems by extracts of P. parvum, P. patelliferum, and C. polylepis appeared to be due to similar mechanisms of action, since similar inhibition ratios between the uptake of L-glutamate and GABA were obtained in both synaptosomes and synaptic vesicles. We suggest that P. parvum, P. patelliferum, and C. polylepis produce a set of similar toxins and that the relative amounts of each toxin vary among the three species.