Abstract
Nematocysts of the cubomedusan Chironex fleckeri have been isolated in quantity. Five types of nematocyst were distinguished. Protein, carbohydrate, cystine-containing compounds and 3-indolyl derivatives were detected in all types of nematocyst. Saline extracts of the contents of nematocysts were highly toxic to prawns and fish and were capable of eliciting fatal systemic effects within seconds if administered to rats and mice via the i.v. route. Saline extracts of toxic material from ruptured nematocysts elicited a powerful contracture of the striated musculature of barnacles and of skeletal, respiratory and extravascular smooth musculature of rats. In each case, the contracture was sustained for a period and then the musculature involved became paralysed in the relaxed condition. When exposed to toxin extracts the perfused heart of the toad and the exposed heart of the rat showed a progressive failure to relax during successive cardiac cycles and the hearts became paralysed in systole. Prior blockade of neuromuscular junctions with d-tubocurarine did not modify the response of rat diaphragm musculature to toxin extracts. Conduction in the sciatic nerve of the toad was not obviously affected by prolonged exposure to toxin extracts. Preliminary results indicate that C. fleckeri nematocyst toxin is antigenic.
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