Analysis of Apoptosis in Ultraviolet-Induced Sea Cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) Melting Using Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl-Transferase-Mediated dUTP Nick End-Labeling Assay and Cleaved Caspase-3 Immunohistochemistry.
The sea cucumber body wall melting phenomenon occurs under certain circumstances, and the mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. This study investigated the apoptosis in the ultraviolet (UV)-induced sea cucumber melting phenomenon. Fresh sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus) were exposed to UV radiation for half an hour at an intensity of 0.056 mW/cm(2) and then held at room temperature for melting development. The samples were histologically processed into formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. The apoptosis of samples was analyzed with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay and cleaved caspase-3 immunohistochemistry. The emergence of TUNEL-positive cells speeds up between 0.5 and 2 h after UV irradiation. Cleaved caspase-3 positive cells were obviously detected in sample tissues immediately after the UV irradiation. These results demonstrated that sea cucumber melting induced by UV irradiation was triggered by the activation of caspase-3 followed by DNA fragmentation in sea cucumber tissue, which was attributed to apoptosis but was not a consequence of autolysis activity.
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Jing-Feng
JF
Yang
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Rong-Chun
RC
Gao
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Hai-Tao
HT
Wu
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Peng-Fei
PF
Li
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Xian-Shu
XS
Hu
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Da-Yong
DY
Zhou
School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University , National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian 116034, P. R. China.
Bei-Wei
BW
Zhu
Seafood Research and Education Center, Oregon State University , Astoria, Oregon 97103, United States.
Yi-Cheng
YC
Su
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000528:radiation effects; D005260:Female; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008297:Male; D047528:Stichopus / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D053148:Caspase 3
TUNEL; apoptosis; autolysis; caspase-3; melting