Effects of serotonin and fluoxetine on blood glucose regulation in two decapod species

One of the best known crustacean hormones is the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH). However, the mechanisms involved in hormone release in these animals are poorly understood, and thus constitute the central objective of the present study. Different groups of crustaceans belonging to diverse taxa (Chasmagnathus granulata, a grapsid crab and Orconectes limosus, an astacid) were injected with serotonin, fluoxetine, or a mixture of both, and glycemic values (C. granulata and O. limosus) and CHH levels (O. limosus) were determined after 2 h in either submerged animals or animals exposed to atmospheric air. Both serotonin and fluoxetine caused significant hyperglycemia (P<0.05) after injection into the blood sinus of the two species, an effect enhanced after exposure to atmospheric air. In C. granulata blood glucose increased from 6.1 to 43.3 and 11.4 mg/100 ml in submerged animals and from 5.7 to 55.2 and 22.5 mg/100 ml in air-exposed animals after treatment with serotonin and fluoxetine, respectively. In O. limosus the increases were from 1.2 to 59.7 and 135.2 mg/100 ml in submerged animals and from 2.5 to 200.3 and 193.6 mg/100 ml in air-exposed animals after treatment with serotonin and fluoxetine, respectively. Serotonin and fluoxetine also caused a significant increase in the circulating levels of CHH in O. limosus, from 11.9 to 43 and 45.7 fmol/ml in submerged animals and from 13.2 to 32.6 and 45.7 fmol/ml in air-exposed animals, respectively, thus confirming their action as neuroregulators in these invertebrates.

Identification of hemolytic and neuroactive fractions in the venom of the sea anemone Bunodosoma cangicum

Sea anemones are a rich source of biologically active substances. In crayfish muscle fibers, Bunodosoma cangicum whole venom selectively blocks the I K(Ca) currents. In the present study, we report for the first time powerful hemolytic and neuroactive effects present in two different fractions obtained by gel-filtration chromatography from whole venom of B. cangicum. A cytolytic fraction (Bcg-2) with components of molecular mass ranging from 8 to 18 kDa elicited hemolysis of mouse erythrocytes with an EC50 = 14 µg/ml and a maximum dose of 22 µg/ml. The effects of the neuroactive fraction, Bcg-3 (2 to 5 kDa), were studied on isolated crab nerves. This fraction prolonged the compound action potentials by increasing their duration and rise time in a dose-dependent manner. This effect was evident after the washout of the preparation, suggesting the existence of a reversible substance that was initially masking the effects of an irreversible one. In order to elucidate the target of Bcg-3 action, the fraction was applied to a tetraethylammonium-pretreated preparation. An additional increase in action potential duration was observed, suggesting a blockade of a different population of K+ channels or of tetraethylammonium-insensitive channels. Also, tetrodotoxin could not block the action potentials in a Bcg-3-pretreated preparation, suggesting a possible interaction of Bcg-3 with Na+ channels. The present data suggest that B. cangicum venom contains at least two bioactive fractions whose activity on cell membranes seems to differ from the I K(Ca) blockade described previously.