Abstract
In this review, we focus on processes, organs and systems targeted by the marine toxins yessotoxin (YTX), okadaic acid (OA) and palytoxin (PTX). The effects of YTX and their basis are analyzed from data collected in the mollusc Mytilus galloprovincialis, the annelid Enchytraeus crypticus, Swiss CD1 mice and invertebrate and vertebrate cell cultures. OA and PTX, two toxins with a better established mode of action, are analyzed with regard to their effects on development. The amphibian Xenopus laevis is used as a model, and the Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus (FETAX) as the experimental protocol.
Highlights
The studies and reviews on the marine toxins are becoming more numerous due to the increase in the frequency and the distribution in many regions of the world of algal toxins that can damage public health, fishing, fish and shellfish cultures, and marine ecosystems
Since toxicological properties of YTX and the molecular targets of okadaic acid (OA) and PTX have already been exhaustively reviewed [10,11,12,13,14], we will focus our analysis on the possible mechanisms of action and target organs for YTX and will summarize the effects that OA and PTX exert on vertebrate embryos and their development
For PTX and OA, we report experiments performed either on invertebrates or using the amphibian Xenopus laevis as a model and the Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus (FETAX) as the experimental protocol
Summary
The studies and reviews on the marine toxins are becoming more numerous due to the increase in the frequency and the distribution in many regions of the world of algal toxins that can damage public health, fishing, fish and shellfish cultures, and marine ecosystems. It has been reported that algal toxins are responsible for more than 50,000–500,000 intoxication incidents in humans per year, with an overall mortality rate of 1.5% on a global basis [1]. Since toxicological properties of YTX and the molecular targets of OA and PTX have already been exhaustively reviewed [10,11,12,13,14], we will focus our analysis on the possible mechanisms of action and target organs for YTX and will summarize the effects that OA and PTX exert on vertebrate embryos and their development. We describe experiments that have studied YTX effects on mussels, mice and both invertebrate and vertebrate cell cultures, in order to isolate possible biological targets of YTX at both organ and cellular level. For PTX and OA, we report experiments performed either on invertebrates or using the amphibian Xenopus laevis as a model and the Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus (FETAX) as the experimental protocol
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