Abstract
Gelsemine is an important toxic substance extracted from Gelsemium elegans, which has a lot of biological functions in cells and organisms, but its toxicity has been rarely reported in Tetrahymena thermophila. In this study, we used the protozoan T. thermophila as an experimental model to investigate the potential toxicity-induced mechanism of gelsemine in the unicellular eukaryote. Our results clearly showed gelsemine inhibited T. thermophila growth in a dose-dependent manner. This exposure also resulted in oxidative stress on T. thermophila cells and antioxidant enzyme levels were significantly altered at high gelsemine levels (p < 0.05). Gelsemine produced a slight apoptotic effect at the highest (0.8 mg/mL) gelsemine level used here (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the toxin-induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. The ultrastructural analysis also revealed mitophagic vacuoles at 0.4 and 0.8 mg/mL levels of gelsemine exposure. Moreover, expressions of oxidative stress-related and MAP kinase genes were significantly changed after exposure to 0.8 mg/mL level of gelsemine (p < 0.05). Altogether, our results clearly show that gelsemine from G. elegans can inhibit the growth via inducing oxidative stress and DNA damage in T. thermophila cells.
Highlights
Gelsemium elegans Benth is a famous medicinal plants native to Southeast Asia, in China, which has been long used for centuries as a traditional Chinese folk medicine, in the treatment of inflammation, anxiety and neuralgia in spite of their toxicity (Liu et al, 2011a, 2013)
Cell viability was adversely affected by gelsemine, and this was especially apparent in the concentrations of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/mL treatment groups (p < 0.05), which were dose-dependent
This data indicates that gelsemine produces significant alterations in cellular redox status at high concentrations and that the compound causes oxidative stress in T. thermophila
Summary
Gelsemium elegans Benth is a famous medicinal plants native to Southeast Asia, in China, which has been long used for centuries as a traditional Chinese folk medicine, in the treatment of inflammation, anxiety and neuralgia in spite of their toxicity (Liu et al, 2011a, 2013). More than 190 chemicals have been identified in G. elegans, the primary bioactive components in it are alkaloids, which extracted from the plant have been found possessing various biological effects (Jin et al, 2014). Various alkaloids have similar structures, but they are diverse in pharmacological actions and toxicities. Gelsemine is the only common alkaloid between G. elegans and G. sempervirens. Gelsemine is highly toxic and its chemical structure and stereochemistry have been defined (Lai & Chan, 2009), its biological effects are poorly described. There is only one report that gelsemine directly modulated recombinant and native glycine receptors in vertebrate (Lara et al, 2016). There is increased interest in gelsemine since it can alter many biological activities in vertebrates, especially in mammals. The effects of gelsemine on microorganisms have not been investigated
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