Effect of caulerpenyne, a toxin extracted from Caulerpa taxifolia on mechanisms regulating intracellular pH in sea urchin eggs and sea bream hepatocytes.

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The proliferation of the green marine alga Caulerpa taxifolia in the Mediterranean led us to investigate the toxic effects on marine organisms of caulerpenyne (Cyn), the major secondary metabolite synthesized by the alga. This study was performed on sea urchin eggs (Paracentrotus lividus) and isolated hepatocytes from the sea bream (Sparus aurata), in which accumulation of the toxins by metabolic processes may be of significance. Cyn provoked an acidification of seawater containing both unfertilized and fertilized eggs, as revealed by a titrable efflux of protons. The pHi in unfertilized eggs continuously increased in the presence of Cyn, whereas there was a biphasic response in both fertilized eggs and isolated hepatocytes, with a decrease of the pHi followed by recovery to the initial value. Cyn inhibited the accumulation of 14C-methylamine in acidic granules present in the cortical zone of sea urchin eggs. Dicyclocarbodiimide (DCCD), a well-known H(+)-ATPase inhibitor, provoked a similar inhibition. Both molecules increased pH in the acidic compartments of isolated bream hepatocytes. These results suggest that Cyn inhibits intracellular sequestration of protons and thus liberates protons into the cell cytoplasm from which they leak toward the extracellular medium.