Blepharismin produced by a protozoan Blepharisma functions as an antibiotic effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Pant, Bijaya; Kato, Yoji; Kumagai, Toru; Matsuoka, Takeshi; Sugiyama, Masanori

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.1997.tb12687.x

Cited by 23 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…To date, the three main functions that have been ascribed to blepharismins are photoreception, chemical defence against predators and protection against UV radiation (Giese, 1981;Miyake et al, 1990;Harumoto et al, 1998). In addition to physiological functions, blepharismins were also demonstrated to exert an antibiotic effect against the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (Pant et al, 1997). Similar to blepharismins, the blue pigment stentorin was also structurally characterised and synthesised, and shown to be able to mediate light-induced response and chemical defence against raptorial ciliates (Iio et al, 1995;Miyake et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Chemical defence by mono-prenyl hydroquinone in a freshwater ciliate, Spirostomum ambiguum

et al. 2011

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Several species of ciliates produce and accumulate low molecular weight toxic compounds in specialised membrane-bound ejectable organelles: extrusomes. These compounds can be used in predator–prey interaction for killing prey as well as for chemical defence. Here, we describe the isolation and characterisation of 2-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)benzene-1,4-diol(mono-prenyl hydroquinone), the extrusomal defensive toxin of the freshwater heterotrich ciliate Spirostomum ambiguum. The toxin was purified at homogeneity by RP-HPLC, and its structural characterisation was carried out through NMR and MS measurements. In vivo experiments involving S. ambiguum and Climacostomum virens in predator–prey interaction, and the analysis of cytotoxic activity of mono-prenyl hydroquinone on a panel of free-living freshwater ciliates, indicated that the toxin is very effective in S. ambiguum’s chemical defence

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Chemical defence by mono-prenyl hydroquinone in a freshwater ciliate, Spirostomum ambiguum

et al. 2011

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“…Interestingly, due to its antimicrobial and pro-apoptotic activity in some tumor cell lines, the sesquiterpenoid euplotin C was recently proposed for the design of new drugs (Savoia et al 2004;Cervia et al 2006Cervia et al , 2007. Antiviral and antibacterial activities were also reported for stentorin (Lobban et al 2007) and blepharismin (Pant et al 1997), which are both derivatives of hypericin, i.e., a polycyclic aromatic compound extracted from plants of the genus Hypericum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antimicrobial activity of the protozoan toxin climacostol and its derivatives

et al. 2012

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Climacostol is a defense toxin produced by the ciliated protozoan Climacostomum virens and belongs to resorcinolic lipids, a group of compounds that shows antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic activities. In this study we investigate the antimicrobial activity of climacostol and its alkyl and alkynyl derivatives against a panel of bacterial and fungal pathogens. Our results show a good and comparable antimicrobial activity of the three compounds, which have resulted effective against Gram-positive bacteria and Candida with MIC and MBC ranging from 8 to 32 mg L −1 , whereas no significant effect against Gram-negative species has been observed. Taken as a whole, the experimental data reported in the current study suggest that differences in the saturation rate of the lateral chain of climacostol are not related to the activity of the molecule. Therefore, it is likely that the general structure of the two moieties, i.e., the di-hydroxy-phenyl group and the alkenyl chains, contributes to the overall antibiotic behaviour.

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“…The phototoxicity of blepharismin is thought to be due to the generation of short-lived oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) (Jardon et al, 1987;Checcucci et al, 1991) and hydroxyl radical (OH •) (Kato et al, 1996). Very little is known about the mechanism of the intrinsic toxicity of blepharismin (Pant et al, 1997).…”

Section: Dileptus Margaritifermentioning

confidence: 99%

Defense Function of Pigment Granules in the Ciliate Blepharisma japonicum against Two Predatory Protists,Amoeba proteus (Rhizopodea) and Climacostomum virens (Ciliata)

Terazima¹,

Harumoto²

2004

Zoological Science

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The defense function of pigment granules in the red ciliate Blepharisma japonicum against two predatory protists, Amoeba proteus and Climacostomum virens, was investigated by (1) comparing normally-pigmented and albino mutant cells of B. japonicum as the prey of these predators and (2) comparing resistance of the predators to blepharismin, the toxic pigment contained in the pigment granules of B. japonicum. Normally pigmented cells which contained more blepharismin than albino cells were less vulnerable to A. proteus than albino cells, but not to C. virens. C. virens was more resistant than A. proteus to the lethal effect of blepharismin. The results indicate that pigment granules of B. japonicum function as defense organelles against A. proteus but not against C. virens and suggest that successful defense against a predator depends on the susceptibility of the predator to blepharismin.

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Blepharismin produced by a protozoan Blepharisma functions as an antibiotic effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Cited by 23 publications

References 20 publications

Chemical defence by mono-prenyl hydroquinone in a freshwater ciliate, Spirostomum ambiguum

Chemical defence by mono-prenyl hydroquinone in a freshwater ciliate, Spirostomum ambiguum

Antimicrobial activity of the protozoan toxin climacostol and its derivatives

Defense Function of Pigment Granules in the Ciliate Blepharisma japonicum against Two Predatory Protists,Amoeba proteus (Rhizopodea) and Climacostomum virens (Ciliata)

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