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Abstract
In spite of the high abundance and species diversity of diatoms, only a few bioactive compounds from them have been described. The present study reveals a high number of mammalian cell death inducing substances in biofilm-associated diatoms sampled from the intertidal zone. Extracts from the genera Melosira, Amphora, Phaeodactylum and Nitzschia were all found to induce leukemia cell death, with either classical apoptotic or autophagic features. Several extracts also contained inhibitors of thrombin-induced blood platelet activation. Some of this activity was caused by a high content of adenosine in the diatoms, ranging from 0.07 to 0.31 μg/mg dry weight. However, most of the bioactivity was adenosine deaminase-resistant. An adenosine deaminase-resistant active fraction from one of the extracts was partially purified and shown to induce apoptosis with a distinct phenotype. The results show that benthic diatoms typically found in the intertidal zone may represent a richer source of interesting bioactive compounds than hitherto recognized.
Highlights
The diatoms represent a large and extraordinary ecologically flexible group of unicellular eukaryotic photosynthetic microalgae
Marine benthic diatoms are a rich source of leukemia cell death inducing activity
Biomass from ten diatom isolates was extracted sequentially, and the extracts were tested for ability to induce hepatocyte and leukemia cell death
Summary
The diatoms represent a large and extraordinary ecologically flexible group of unicellular eukaryotic photosynthetic microalgae. The species diversity of diatoms is large, and estimates range from 1 × [1] to 2 × species [2]. They have genes from the plant, bacteria and animal kingdom, and this has resulted in a unique metabolism [3]. The best-described diatom bioactive compound is the neuroexcitatory amino acid derivative domoic acid. Human consumption of domoic acid-contaminated mussels during a bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries has caused mass poisoning [4]. Anther bioactive compounds reported from diatoms is naviculan, isolated from Navicula directa [7], a sulfated polysaccharide with antiviral activities against herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 and influenza A virus
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