Jellyfish Tentacles Research Articles

Optimization and preliminary characterization of venom isolated from 3 medically important jellyfish: the box (Chironex fleckeri), Irukandji (Carukia barnesi), and blubber (Catostylus mosaicus) jellyfish

To optimize venom extraction and to undertake preliminary biochemical studies of venom from the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), the Irukandji jellyfish (Carukia barnesi), and the blubber jellyfish (Catostylus mosaicus). Lyophilized crude venoms from box jellyfish tentacles and whole Irukandji jellyfish were prepared in water by homogenization, sonication, and rapid freeze thawing. A second technique, consisting of grinding samples with a glass mortar and pestle and using phosphate-buffered saline, was used to prepare crude venom from isolated nematocysts of the box jellyfish, the bells of Irukandji jellyfish, and the oral lobes of blubber jellyfish. Venoms were compared by use of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot test. Toxicity of some venoms was determined by intravenous median lethal dose assay in mice. Different venom extraction techniques produced significantly different crude venoms for both box and Irukandji jellyfish. Irukandji and blubber venom SDS-PAGE protein profiles were established for the first time. Analysis of Western blot tests revealed that box jellyfish antivenin reacted specifically with the venom of each jellyfish. Toxicity was found in Irukandji jellyfish venom derived by use of the mortar-and-pestle method, but not in the lyophilized venom. Glass mortar-and-pestle grinding and use of an appropriate buffer was found to be a simple and suitable method for the preparation of venom from each jellyfish species studied. This study contributes to biochemical investigations of jellyfish venoms, particularly the venom of the Irukandji jellyfish, for which there are, to our knowledge, no published studies. It also highlights the importance of optimizing venom extraction as the first step toward understanding the complex biological effects of jellyfish venoms.

Toxin compartmentation and delivery in the Cnidaria: the nematocyst's tubule as a multiheaded poisonous arrow.

With the aid of dialysis and ion exchange chromatography, a new polypeptide toxin was purified from the tentacles of the Mediterranean jellyfish Rhopilema nomadica. The amino acid sequence of the N-terminal segment of the new toxin revealed that it is a phospholipase A2 (PhA2) toxin closely resembling those previously isolated from reptile and hymenopterous venoms. The occurrence of a PhA2 toxin in the jellyfish tentacles may explain both their local (dermanecrotic) and systemic (cardiac-respiratory) effects upon human envenomation. We used an antibody raised against the above toxin as a probe to explore, for the first time, the site of toxin allocation in cnidarian nematocysts and its morphological route of delivery. Our immunocytochemical approach revealed that the toxin is stored on the outer ("cytoplasmic") surface of the inverted tubule folded in the capsule of the resting nematocyst. During discharge the toxin is translocated to the internal surface surrounding the lumen of the everting tubule, and its delivery via extended spirally arrayed barbs is apparently propelled by the high hydrostatic pressure of the capsule. This is a unique example where subcellular translocation and transfer of a polypetide is driven by mechanical forces.

Recurrent cutaneous jellyfish eruptions without envenomation

Three patients exhibiting recurrent cutaneous eruptions induced by contact with jellyfish tentacles are presented. The recurrent eruptions appeared several days after the primary exposure without contact with any offending coelenterate. The principal species involved include Pelagia noctiluca, Physalia physalis and probably Lychnorhiza lucerna. These three cases, combined with an earlier similar report of recurrent lesions induced by Physalia physalis suggest that this phenomenon may be widespread. In two of the three cases, the secondary eruption was more severe than that occurring after the primary envenomation.

Treatment of Jellyfish Stings

ABSTRACT To the Editor.— With reference to the note on jellyfish (most commonly Physalia species) stings in the MEDICAL NEWS section (225:1299, 1973), readers might be glad to know of a simple expedient to have handy for anyone likely to be exposed to jellyfish stings. The remedy, any of the papaincontaining meat tenderizers (eg, Adolf's), is simply sprinkled liberally on the wetted affected area and allowed to remain until the stinging has abated. Mr. Dave Cargo of the Natural Resources Institute in Solomons, Md, rediscovered this old treatment in the mid '60s.When jellyfish tentacles are disturbed, they fire nematocysts at the offending stimulus. The toxins in this structure are usually fairly simple polypeptides, which papain rapidly cleaves into nontoxic amino acids. An anthropologist at the turn of the century reported that natives stung by the Portuguese man-of-war would apply a cut papaya to the affected surface, with obvious relief. Mr.

The chemical composition of sea nettle nematocysts.

Interest in the stinging apparatus of the sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) has been stimulated recently because of the economic problem produced by this organism. Resort activity is severely curtailed during the summer season when the nettle is prevalent. The nettle's toxic activity is loated in the nematocyst and appears to be membrane-bound (1). The chemical composition of sea nettle nematocyst suspensions was determined in order to obtain data concerning the structure of the organelle and the pathogenesis of the sting. Materials and Methods. Adult stages of Chrysaora quinquecirrha were obtained from the Chesapeake Bay during August and September, 1968. Whole tentacles (WT) and nematocyst suspensions (NS) were prepared as described earlier (1). The following chemical determinations were performed on freeze-dried specimens according to standard techniques: N2 (2), Cl (3), C (4), H (4), S (4), O (4), ash (4), P (5), DNA (6), RNA (7), reducing sugars (8), sialic acid (9), glycerol (10), hexosamine (11), saponifiable fats (12), and cholesterol (13). Preliminary experiments were done to determine the conditions for optimal yield of these substances from the jellyfish tentacles. The most reproducible results in the analysis of reducing sugars and sialic acid were obtained after 30-min hydrolysis in 4 N HCI. Mximum yields of hexosamine were obtained after hydrolysis for 1 hr. Internal standards were utilized during all analytical procedures.