Pigment cell differentiation in sea urchin blastula-derived primary cell cultures.

Natalya Ageenko,Konstantin Kiselev,Nelly Odintsova,Pavel Dmitrenok

doi:10.3390/md12073874

Abstract

The quinone pigments of sea urchins, specifically echinochrome and spinochromes, are known for their effective antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor activities. We developed in vitro technology for inducing pigment differentiation in cell culture. The intensification of the pigment differentiation was accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in cell proliferation. The number of pigment cells was two-fold higher in the cells cultivated in the coelomic fluids of injured sea urchins than in those intact. The possible roles of the specific components of the coelomic fluids in the pigment differentiation process and the quantitative measurement of the production of naphthoquinone pigments during cultivation were examined by MALDI and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Echinochrome A and spinochrome E were produced by the cultivated cells of the sand dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis in all tested media, while only spinochromes were found in the cultivated cells of another sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus intermedius. The expression of genes associated with the induction of pigment differentiation was increased in cells cultivated in the presence of shikimic acid, a precursor of naphthoquinone pigments. Our results should contribute to the development of new techniques in marine biotechnology, including the generation of cell cultures producing complex bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential.

Highlights

Marine inhabitants are the most phylogenetically diverse organisms, demonstrating a significant potential for biodiscovery research [1] and as possible sources of valuable biologically active substances for the pharmaceutical and food industries [2]
The cells cultivated in seawater were faintly pigmented and not numerous, whereas the pigment cells were more abundant in the coelomic fluid-cultivated cells
Analyzing cells cultivated in the presence of 0.5 mM ShА, we showed that pks gene expression was two-fold higher in cells cultivated in the injured sea urchin coelomic fluid relative to cells cultivated in that from intact sea urchins

Summary

Introduction

Marine inhabitants are the most phylogenetically diverse organisms, demonstrating a significant potential for biodiscovery research [1] and as possible sources of valuable biologically active substances for the pharmaceutical and food industries [2]. Like many marine secondary metabolites, polyketide compounds are known for their highly effective antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor activities. These compounds may play decisive roles in the regulation of lipid peroxidation and in immune defense [3,4,5,6]. They are generated via a series of enzymatic, oxidative and photochemical reactions from shikimic acid (ShA)—a precursor of naphthoquinone pigments (Figure 1) [7]. Echinochrome is one of these pigments and is synthesized in the sea urchin pigment cells demonstrating a strong bactericidal effect during embryonic and larval development [8,9]. A drug (Histochrome®, Moscow, Russia) with cardiological and ophthalmological activity based on the echinochrome structure has been developed to correct metabolic processes and act as an oxygen transporter [11]

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