title: Marine toxins and the cytoskeleton: a new view of palytoxin toxicity.
abstract: Palytoxin is a marine toxin first isolated from zoanthids (genus Palythoa), even though dinoflagellates of the genus Ostreopsis are the most probable origin of the toxin. Ostreopsis has a wide distribution in tropical and subtropical areas, but recently these dinoflagellates have also started to appear in the Mediterranean Sea. Two of the most remarkable properties of palytoxin are the large and complex structure (with different analogs, such as ostreocin-D or ovatoxin-a) and the extreme acute animal toxicity. The Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase has been proposed as receptor for palytoxin. The marine toxin is known to act on the Na(+) pump and elicit an increase in Na(+) permeability, which leads to depolarization and a secondary Ca(2+) influx, interfering with some functions of cells. Studies on the cellular cytoskeleton have revealed that the signaling cascade triggered by palytoxin leads to actin filament system distortion. The activity of palytoxin on the actin cytoskeleton is only partially associated with the cytosolic Ca(2+) changes; therefore, this ion represents an important factor in altering this structure, but it is not the only cause. The goal of the present minireview is to compile the findings reported to date about: (a) how palytoxin and analogs are able to modify the actin cytoskeleton within different cellular models; and (b) what signaling mechanisms could be involved in the modulation of cytoskeletal dynamics by palytoxin.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain. mcarmen.louzao@usc.es
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Louzao
authors.forename: Isabel R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Ares
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cagide
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D000199:Actins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic / Q000633:toxicity; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D004141:Dinoflagellida; D006801:Humans; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011714:Pyrans / Q000633:toxicity; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000095702:Polyether Toxins
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D000199:Actins; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D008387:Marine Toxins; D011714:Pyrans; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase; C010272:palytoxin; D000095702:Polyether Toxins; C459585:ostreocin D