Transfer profile of intramuscularly administered tetrodotoxin to non-toxic cultured specimens of the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes.
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was intramuscularly administered to non-toxic cultured specimens of the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes to investigate TTX transfer/accumulation profiles in the pufferfish body. In two groups of test fish administered either 50MU/individual of TTX standard (purified TTX; PTTX) or crude extract of toxic pufferfish ovary (crude TTX; CTTX), TTX rapidly transferred from the muscle via the blood to other organs. The toxin transfer profiles differed between groups, however, from 4 to 72h. In the PTTX group, little TTX was retained in the liver, and most (>96%) of the toxin remaining in the body transferred/accumulated in the skin after 12h, whereas in the CTTX group, a considerable amount of toxin (15%-23% of the administered toxin or 28%-58% of the remaining toxin) was transferred/retained in the liver for up to 24h, despite the fact that 89% of the remaining toxin transferred/accumulated in the skin at the end of rearing period (168h). The total amount of toxin remaining in the entire body at 1-4h was approximately 60% of the administered toxin in both groups, which decreased at 8-12h, and then increased again to approximately 60%-80% at 24-168h. Immunohistochemical observation revealed that the toxin accumulated in the skin was localized at the basal cells of the epidermal layer.
Ikeda
Koichi
K
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
Murakami
Yumi
Y
Emoto
Yu
Y
Ngy
Laymithuna
L
Taniyama
Shigeto
S
Yagi
Motoaki
M
Takatani
Tomohiro
T
Arakawa
Osamu
O
D000818:Animals; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D023741:Takifugu / Q000378:metabolism*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
D013779:Tetrodotoxin