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Pearson KC, Tarvin RD. A review of chemical defense in harlequin toads (Bufonidae: Atelopus). Toxicon X 2022; 13:100092. [PMID: 35146414 PMCID: PMC8801762 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Toads of the genus Atelopus are chemically defended by a unique combination of endogenously synthesized cardiotoxins (bufadienolides) and neurotoxins which may be sequestered (guanidinium alkaloids). Investigation into Atelopus small-molecule chemical defenses has been primarily concerned with identifying and characterizing various forms of these toxins while largely overlooking their ecological roles and evolutionary implications. In addition to describing the extent of knowledge about Atelopus toxin structures, pharmacology, and biological sources, we review the detection, identification, and quantification methods used in studies of Atelopus toxins to date and conclude that many known toxin profiles are unlikely to be comprehensive because of methodological and sampling limitations. Patterns in existing data suggest that both environmental (toxin availability) and genetic (capacity to synthesize or sequester toxins) factors influence toxin profiles. From an ecological and evolutionary perspective, we summarize the possible selective pressures acting on Atelopus toxicity and toxin profiles, including predation, intraspecies communication, disease, and reproductive status. Ultimately, we intend to provide a basis for future ecological, evolutionary, and biochemical research on Atelopus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kannon C. Pearson
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Rebecca D. Tarvin
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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D'Imperio S, Monasky MM, Micaglio E, Ciconte G, Anastasia L, Pappone C. Brugada Syndrome: Warning of a Systemic Condition? Front Cardiovasc Med 2021; 8:771349. [PMID: 34722688 PMCID: PMC8553994 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.771349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a hereditary disorder, characterized by a specific electrocardiogram pattern and highly related to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. BrS has been associated with other cardiac and non-cardiac pathologies, probably because of protein expression shared by the heart and other tissue types. In fact, the most commonly found mutated gene in BrS, SCN5A, is expressed throughout nearly the entire body. Consistent with this, large meals and alcohol consumption can trigger arrhythmic events in patients with BrS, suggesting a role for organs involved in the digestive and metabolic pathways. Ajmaline, a drug used to diagnose BrS, can have side effects on non-cardiac tissues, such as the liver, further supporting the idea of a role for organs involved in the digestive and metabolic pathways in BrS. The BrS electrocardiogram (ECG) sign has been associated with neural, digestive, and metabolic pathways, and potential biomarkers for BrS have been found in the serum or plasma. Here, we review the known associations between BrS and various organ systems, and demonstrate support for the hypothesis that BrS is not only a cardiac disorder, but rather a systemic one that affects virtually the whole body. Any time that the BrS ECG sign is found, it should be considered not a single disease, but rather the final step in any number of pathways that ultimately threaten the patient's life. A multi-omics approach would be appropriate to study this syndrome, including genetics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, and glycomics, resulting eventually in a biomarker for BrS and the ability to diagnose this syndrome using a minimally invasive blood test, avoiding the risk associated with ajmaline testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara D'Imperio
- Arrhythmology Department, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
| | - Michelle M Monasky
- Arrhythmology Department, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuele Micaglio
- Arrhythmology Department, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Ciconte
- Arrhythmology Department, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
| | - Luigi Anastasia
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Pappone
- Arrhythmology Department, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy.,Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
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Makarova M, Rycek L, Hajicek J, Baidilov D, Hudlicky T. Tetrodotoxin: Geschichte, Biologie und Synthese. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201901564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Makarova
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
| | - Lukas Rycek
- Department of Organic ChemistryFaculty of ScienceCharles University Hlavova 8 12843 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Josef Hajicek
- Department of Organic ChemistryFaculty of ScienceCharles University Hlavova 8 12843 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Daler Baidilov
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
| | - Tomas Hudlicky
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
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Makarova M, Rycek L, Hajicek J, Baidilov D, Hudlicky T. Tetrodotoxin: History, Biology, and Synthesis. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019; 58:18338-18387. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Makarova
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
| | - Lukas Rycek
- Department of Organic ChemistryFaculty of ScienceCharles University Hlavova 8 12843 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Josef Hajicek
- Department of Organic ChemistryFaculty of ScienceCharles University Hlavova 8 12843 Prague Czech Republic
| | - Daler Baidilov
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
| | - Tomas Hudlicky
- Chemistry Department and Centre for BiotechnologyBrock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines Ontario L2S 3A1 Canada
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Tetrodotoxin, an Extremely Potent Marine Neurotoxin: Distribution, Toxicity, Origin and Therapeutical Uses. Mar Drugs 2015; 13:6384-406. [PMID: 26492253 PMCID: PMC4626696 DOI: 10.3390/md13106384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2015] [Revised: 09/28/2015] [Accepted: 10/04/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin responsible for many human intoxications and fatalities each year. The origin of TTX is unknown, but in the pufferfish, it seems to be produced by endosymbiotic bacteria that often seem to be passed down the food chain. The ingestion of contaminated pufferfish, considered the most delicious fish in Japan, is the usual route of toxicity. This neurotoxin, reported as a threat to human health in Asian countries, has spread to the Pacific and Mediterranean, due to the increase of temperature waters worldwide. TTX, for which there is no known antidote, inhibits sodium channel producing heart failure in many cases and consequently death. In Japan, a regulatory limit of 2 mg eq TTX/kg was established, although the restaurant preparation of “fugu” is strictly controlled by law and only chefs qualified are allowed to prepare the fish. Due to its paralysis effect, this neurotoxin could be used in the medical field as an analgesic to treat some cancer pains.
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Kistamás K, Hegyi B, Váczi K, Horváth B, Bányász T, Magyar J, Szentandrássy N, Nánási PP. Oxidative shift in tissue redox potential increases beat-to-beat variability of action potential duration. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 93:563-8. [DOI: 10.1139/cjpp-2014-0531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Profound changes in tissue redox potential occur in the heart under conditions of oxidative stress frequently associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Since beat-to-beat variability (short term variability, SV) of action potential duration (APD) is a good indicator of arrhythmia incidence, the aim of this work was to study the influence of redox changes on SV in isolated canine ventricular cardiomyocytes using a conventional microelectrode technique. The redox potential was shifted toward a reduced state using a reductive cocktail (containing dithiothreitol, glutathione, and ascorbic acid) while oxidative changes were initiated by superfusion with H2O2. Redox effects were evaluated as changes in “relative SV” determined by comparing SV changes with the concomitant APD changes. Exposure of myocytes to the reductive cocktail decreased SV significantly without any detectable effect on APD. Application of H2O2 increased both SV and APD, but the enhancement of SV was the greater, so relative SV increased. Longer exposure to H2O2 resulted in the development of early afterdepolarizations accompanied by tremendously increased SV. Pretreatment with the reductive cocktail prevented both elevation in relative SV and the development of afterdepolarizations. The results suggest that the increased beat-to-beat variability during an oxidative stress contributes to the generation of cardiac arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kornél Kistamás
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Bence Hegyi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Krisztina Váczi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Balázs Horváth
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Tamás Bányász
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - János Magyar
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
- Division of Sport Physiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Norbert Szentandrássy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
- Department of Dental Physiology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
| | - Péter P. Nánási
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
- Department of Dental Physiology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, H-4012 Debrecen, P.O. Box 22, Hungary
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