A marine mollusc provides the first example of in vivo storage of prostaglandins: prostaglandin-1,15-lactones.
Prostaglandin-(PG) 1,15-lactones and, in smaller amounts, free acids, were isolated from both the mantle and the dorso-lateral appendices of the opisthobranch mollusc Tethys fimbria. In vivo conversion of PGs into the corresponding lactones and accumulation of PGE2- and PGE3-1,15-lactones in the appendages were shown. The detachment of these appendages from the molested mollusc caused the in vivo conversion of PGE2- and PGE3-lactones back to PGE2 and PGE3 respectively, thus providing the first example of a mechanism by which prostaglandins can be stored and, when needed, released.
Cimino
G
G
Istituto per la Chimica di Molecole di Interesse Biologico del C.N.R., Napoli, Italy.
Crispino
A
A
Di Marzo
V
V
Sodano
G
G
Spinella
A
A
Villani
G
G
D000818:Animals; D001711:Biotransformation; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D007783:Lactones / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008974:Mollusca / Q000378:metabolism*; D011453:Prostaglandins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011865:Radioisotope Dilution Technique; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014316:Tritium
D007783:Lactones; D011453:Prostaglandins; D014316:Tritium