Ascidians (Urochordata: Ascidiacea) from Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Simple and colonial ascidians were collected at different depths at Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, between 2000 and 2003. The collection here presented includes representatives of the families Clavelinidae (Clavelina oblonga), Polycitoridae (Cystodytes dellechiajei), Polyclinidae (Polyclinum constellatum and Polyclinum molle sp. nov.), Holozoidae (Distaplia bermudensis), Ascidiidae (Ascidia sydneiensis and Phallusia nigra), Styelidae (Botrylloides giganteum, Botrylloides nigrum, Symplegma brakenhielmi, Symplegma rubra, Polyandrocarpa anguinea, Eusynstyela floridana, Eusynstyela tincta and Styela plicata), Pyuridae (Herdmania pallida and Microcosmus exasperatus). Didemnids were also collected in the area but were not considered here. Of the 17 species found, one (Polyclinum molle sp. nov.) is a new species in the family Polyclinidae and the others are all species with tropical distribution.

Sexual and asexual reproduction in Didemnum rodriguesi (Ascidiacea, Didemnidae)

Sexual and asexual reproduction and associated population dynamics were investigated in the colonial ascidian Didemnum rodriguesi Rocha & Monniot, 1993 (Didemnidae) in southern Brazil. Investment in sexual (production of new individuals) and asexual (colony growth) reproduction was compared between seasons. Permanently marked quadrats were repeatedly photographed to measure changes in colonies. Eggs and larvae were counted monthly in collected colonies. This species alternates seasonally between sexual (summer) and asexual (winter) reproduction. In summer, colonies were smaller, brooded eggs and larvae and recruitment rates were greater, while in winter, colony size was larger and eggs and larvae were absent. There is a relationship between fecundity and colony area. Fragmentation and fusion of colonies were similar in summer and winter, as well as mortality. In conclusion, D. rodriguesi has a lifecycle usual for high latitude ascidians with a limited time length for sexual reproduction and alternate investment in sexual and asexual reproduction along the year.

Produtos naturais da ascídia Botrylloides giganteum, das esponjas Verongula gigantea, Ircinia felix, Cliona delitrix e do nudibrânquio Tambja eliora, da costa do Brasil

Two new marine metabolites, 3Z, 6Z, 9Z-dodecatrien-1-ol (1) from the ascidian Botrylloides giganteum and 4H-pyran-2ol acetate from the sponge Ircinia felix (4) are herein reported. The known bromotyrosine compounds, 2-(3,5-dibromo-4-methoxyphenyl)-N,N,N-dimethylethanammonium (2) and 2,6-dibromo-4-(2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl)phenol (3), have been isolated from the sponge Verongula gigantea. Serotonin (5) is reported for the first time from the sponge Cliona delitrix, and tambjamines A (15) and D (16) isolated as their respective salts from the nudibranch Tambja eliora. Only tambjamine D presented cytotoxicity against CEM (IC50 12.2 µg/mL) and HL60 (IC50 13.2 µg/mL) human leukemya cells, MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC50 13.2 µg/mL), colon HCT-8 cancer cells (IC50 10.1 µg/mL) and murine melanoma B16 cancer cells (IC50 6.7 µg/mL).

Constituintes químicos da ascídia didemnum psammatodes (sluiter, 1895) coletada na costa cearense

Chemical investigation of the methanolic extract of the ascidian Didemnum psammatodes has led to the identification of the nucleosides 2'-deoxyuridine (1), thymidine (2), 2'-deoxyinosine (3) and 2'-deoxyguanosine (4), the steroids cholestanol, cholestanone and stigmasterol in mixture and batyl alcohol plus two analogs, 1-heptadecyloxy-2,3-propanediol and 1-nonadecyloxy-2,3-propanediol in mixture. Their structures were proposed by NMR, MS and comparison with literature data and GC-MS analysis.

Isolamento e atividades biológicas de produtos naturais das esponjas monanchora arbuscula, aplysina sp. petromica ciocalyptoides e topsentia ophiraphidites, da ascídia didemnum ligulum e do octocoral carijoa riisei

The investigation of extracts from six species of marine invertebrates yielded one new and several known natural products. Isoptilocaulin from the sponge Monanchora aff. arbuscula displayed antimicrobial activity at 1.3 mg/mL against an oxacillin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Five inactive known dibromotyrosine derivatives, 2 6, were isolated from a new species of marine sponge, Aplysina sp. The sponges Petromica ciocalyptoides and Topsentia ophiraphidites yielded the known halistanol sulfate A (7) as an inhibitor of the antileishmanial target adenosine phosphoribosyl transferase. The ascidian Didemnum ligulum yielded asterubin (10) and the new N,N-dimethyl-O-methylethanolamine (11). The octocoral Carijoa riisei yielded the known 18-acetoxypregna-1,4,20-trien-3-one (12), which displayed cytotoxic activity against the cancer cell lines SF295, MDA-MB435, HCT8 and HL60.

In vivo antithrombotic properties of a heparin from the oocyte test cells of the sea squirt Styela plicata(Chordata-Tunicata)

In the ascidian Styela plicata, the oocytes are surrounded by two types of accessory cells named follicle cells and test cells. A heparin-like substance with an anticoagulant activity equivalent to 10% of mammalian heparin and about 5% as potent as the mammalian counterpart for the inhibition of thrombin by antithrombin was isolated from the oocyte test cells. In the present study, we compared the antithrombotic and hemorrhagic effects of sea squirt oocyte test cell heparin with those of porcine heparin in rat models of venous thrombosis and blood loss. Intravenous administration of the oocyte test cell heparin to Wistar rats (both sexes, weighing ~300 g, N = 4 in each group) at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg body weight, which produced a 1.8-fold increase in plasma activated partial thromboplastin time, inhibited thrombosis by 45 ± 13.5% (mean ± SD) without any bleeding effect. The same dose of porcine heparin inhibited thrombosis by 100 ± 1.4%, but produced a blood loss three times greater than that of the saline-treated control. However, 10-fold reduction of the dose of porcine heparin to 0.5 mg/kg body weight, which produced a 5-fold increase in plasma-activated partial thromboplastin time, inhibited thrombosis by 70 ± 13% without any bleeding effect. The antithrombotic properties of a new heparin isolated from test cells of the sea squirt S. plicata, reported here for the first time, indicate that, although sea squirt oocyte test cell heparin was a poor anticoagulant compared to porcine heparin, it had a significant antithrombotic effect without causing bleeding.