title: Who knows not where an anemone does wear his sting? Could polypeptides released from the columnar vesicles of Bunodosoma cangicum induce apoptosis in the ZF-L cell line?
abstract: We provide ultrastructural and cytological evidence that the tentacles of the sea anemone Bunodosoma cangicum does not contain cytotoxic venom. However, we show that the stimulated secretion of an apparent mixture of biomolecules containing polypeptides from the columnar vesicles of Bunodosoma cangicum is apparently a potent inducer of apoptosis in the zebrafish cell line, ZF-L. Microscopic fluorescence, cell morphology and flow cytometric assays confirm the apoptotic activity. Crude vesicle venom was partially purified by size exclusion chromatography. PAGE analysis shows that this venom contains low weight polypeptides but no measurable protein. The apoptotic activity is heat labile, and the observed peptides concurrent with this activity have a molecular weight of approximately 2000 Da. This manuscript is the first report of biologically active molecules and peptides associated with columnar vesicles of anemones, and the first to confirm that the tentacles of B. cangicum do not contain cytotoxic venom, and express spirocytes exclusively.
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Fisiológicas - Fisiologia Animal Comparada, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors: Claudio L Q
authors: CL
authors: Bastos
authors: Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors: Antonio Sergio
authors: AS
authors: Varela
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Fisiológicas - Fisiologia Animal Comparada, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors: Shana Pires
authors: SP
authors: Ferreira
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Fisiológicas - Fisiologia Animal Comparada, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors: Bruna Felix
authors: BF
authors: Nornberg
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Fisiológicas - Fisiologia Animal Comparada, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: roberttewboyle@mac.com.
authors: Robert Tew
authors: RT
authors: Boyle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D012615:Sea Anemones / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D010455:Peptides
keywords: Anemone venom; Apoptosis; Columnar vesicles; Zebrafish cell line