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PubMed1991

Studies of the relationships between Schistosoma nasale and S. spindale and their snail host Indoplanorbis exustus.

Infectivity and cercarial production of Indoplanorbis exustus related to variation of miracidial dose (1, 4, 10 or 20) with Schistosoma nasale and S. spindale from Sri Lanka were studied. The intermediate host-parasite relationships of the two schistosome species showed marked differences under the conditions of observation recorded in this study. Prepatent death rates (PDR) were on average higher for S. spindale (30%) than for S. nasale (10%). The size of the miracidial dose to which snails had been exposed had no effect on PDR. The infection rates (IR) were on average higher for S. nasale (41%) compared with S. spindale (27%). Highest IR occurred after exposure to 4 miracidia in S. nasale infections (79%) and after exposure to 10 miracidia in S. spindale infections (60%). The highest daily average cercarial production per snail was recorded for S. nasale at a level of 4 miracidia (1311), and for S. spindale at a level of 10 miracidia (1615). At low level (1 or 4 miracidia) of exposure, I. exustus showed a better compatibility with S. nasale than with S. spindale. An opposite tendency was observed at higher levels (10 or 20 miracidia) of exposure. Unsuccessful infections of Lymnaea luteola with either S. nasale or S. spindale indicate that this species is not involved in transmission.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Estimating the duration of latency and survival time of snails with schistosomiasis.

By means of techniques of analyses of survival data developed for cancer trials it is possible to study aspects of the natural history of the infection of schistosomiasis on the intermediate host of transmission, the snail. The simultaneous study of three response variables is largely based on a model of Lagakos (1976). When using this approach in the schistosomiasis setting it seems inappropriate to assume that one process, the duration of latency, follows an exponential distribution. Thus this stage is modified to follow a normal distribution and the derivatives required to obtain maximum-likelihood estimates and approximate variances of all parameters are provided. Simple graphical tools for assessing the validity of distributional assumptions in survival data are available from industrial research. The reader's attention is drawn to a paper by Nelson (1972). The relevance and application of these methods to the current problem are described in Section 4. In the event that the times to death of prepatent and patent snails do not follow exponential distributions as assumed in the primary model, a further modification is introduced to enable either or both to follow Weibull densities. Lastly it is possible to adapt both the primary model of Section Three and the modified model of Section Five to allow for the inclusion of auxiliary variables or covariates. Again the required derivatives to obtain maximum likelihood estimates and approximate variances are provided.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Desiccation tolerance of Muellerius capillaris first-stage larvae from Israeli arid and French temperate habitats and their compatibility to the land snail Theba pisana.

The survival capacities of Muellerius capillaris (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) free-living larval stages (L1) of an Israeli desert isolate (Nubian isolate) (92 mm rain per annum) and a French isolate from a temperate habitat (650 mm rain per annum) were compared under humid and extreme dry conditions. Under the dry conditions (7% relative humidity [r.h.] and 33% r.h. at 23 degrees C), both isolates exhibited the same remarkable survival capacity for periods of 17 and 28 days, respectively (> 92% survival, P > 0.1). However, during and after recovery from the anhydrobiotic state, different behaviour patterns of L1 were observed in each isolate. Under humid conditions (97% r.h.) for 10 days, both isolates exhibited similarly low survival percentages (13.4 +/- 4.6%, S.E., survival for the Nubian isolate, 3 +/- 3% for the French isolate, P > 0.05). In water, the French isolate was less active, survived better (52 +/- 8.4% vs 28.7 +/- 3.7, by day 28, P < 0.05) and retained a better morphological appearance (shrunk less) than the Nubian isolate. Larval development of the French isolate in the land snail Theba pisana was significantly faster than that of the Nubian isolate, reaching a higher proportion of infective stages (L3) on day 36 post-infection (78.6% vs 56% P > 0.05). However, similar infection intensities were recovered in snails infected with either of the isolates (59.8 +/- 10.3, S.E., n = 14, for the French isolate, 53 +/- 6, n = 13, for the Nubian isolate, P < 0.05).

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Molluscicidal saponins from Sapindus mukorossi, inhibitory agents of golden apple snails, Pomacea canaliculata.

Extracts of soapnut, Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. (Sapindaceae) showed molluscicidal effects against the golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata Lamarck. (Ampullariidae) with LC(50) values of 85, 22, and 17 ppm after treating 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. Bioassay-directed fractionation of S. mukorossi resulted in the isolation of one new hederagenin-based acetylated saponin, hederagenin 3-O-(2,4-O-di-acetyl-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside)-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (1), along with six known hederagenin saponins, hederagenin 3-O-(3,4-O-di-acetyl-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside)-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (2), hederagenin 3-O-(3-O-acetyl-beta-d-xylopyranosyl)-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (3), hederagenin 3-O-(4-O-acetyl-beta-d-xylopyranosyl)-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (4), hederagenin 3-O-(3,4-O-di-acetyl-beta-d-xylopyranosyl)-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (5), hederagenin 3-O-beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (6), and hederagenin 3-O-alpha-l-arabinopyranoside (7). The bioassay data revealed that 1-7 were molluscicidal, causing 70-100% mortality at 10 ppm against the golden apple snail.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of endocrine disruptors on prosobranch snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the laboratory. Part I: Bisphenol A and octylphenol as xeno-estrogens.

The effects of suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals on freshwater and marine prosobranch species were analysed in laboratory experiments. In this first publication, the responses of the freshwater snail Marisa cornuarietis and of the marine prosobranch Nucella lapillus to the xeno-estrogenic model compounds bisphenol A (BPA) and octylphenol (OP) are presented at nominal concentration ranges between 1 and 100 micrograms/L. Marisa was exposed during 5 months using adult specimens and in a complete life-cycle test for 12 months. In both experiments, the xeno-estrogens induced a complex syndrome of alterations in female Marisa referred to as "superfemales" at the lowest concentrations. Affected specimens were characterised by the formation of additional female organs, an enlargement of the accessory pallial sex glands, gross malformations of the pallial oviduct section resulting in an increased female mortality, and a massive stimulation of oocyte and spawning mass production. The effects of BPA and OP were comparable at the same nominal concentrations. An exposure to OP resulted in inverted U-type concentration response relationships for egg and spawning mass production. Adult Nucella from the field were tested for three months in the laboratory. As in Marisa, superfemales with enlarged accessory pallial sex glands and an enhancement of oocyte production were observed. No oviduct malformations were found probably due to species differences in the gross anatomical structure of the pallial oviduct. A lower percentage of exposed specimens had ripe sperm stored in their vesicula seminalis and additionally male Nucella exhibited a reduced length of penis and prostate gland when compared to the control. Because statistically significant effects were observed at the lowest nominal test concentrations (1 microgram BPA or OP/L), it can be assumed that even lower concentrations may have a negative impact on the snails. The results show that prosobranchs are sensitive to endocrine disruption at environmentally relevant concentrations and that especially M. cornuarietis is a promising candidate for a future organismic invertebrate model to identify endocrine-mimetic test compounds.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Ontogenesis of the snail, Helix aspersa: embryogenesis timetable and ontogenesis of GABA-like immunoreactive neurons in the central nervous system.

Late stages of embryogenesis in the terrestrial snail Helix aspersa L. were studied and a developmental timetable was produced. The distribution of gamma-aminobutyric acid-like immunoreactive (GABA-ir) elements in the CNS of the snail was studied from embryos to adulthood in wholemounts. In adults, approximately 226 GABA-ir neurons were located in the buccal, cerebral and pedal ganglia. The population of GABA-ir cells included four pairs of buccal neurons, three neuronal clusters in the pedal ganglia, two clusters and six single neurons in the cerebral ganglia. GABA-ir fibers were observed in all ganglia and in some nerves. The first detected pair of GABA-ir cells in the embryos appeared in the buccal ganglia at about 63-64% of embryonic development. Five pairs of GABA-ir cell bodies were observed in the cerebral ganglia at about 64-65% of development. During the following 30% of development three more pairs of GABA-ir neurons were detected in the buccal ganglia and over fifteen cells were detected in each cerebral ganglion. At the stage of 70% of development, the first pair of GABA-ir neurons was found in the pedal ganglia. In the suboesophageal ganglion complex, GABA-ir fibers were first detected at about 90% of embryonic development. In the posthatching period, the quantity of GABA-ir neurons reached the adult status in four days in the cerebral ganglia, and in three weeks in the pedal ganglia. In juveniles, transient expression of GABA was found in the pedal ganglia (fourth cluster).

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ca-dependent regulation of the Na-K-pump by post-tetanic sensitization of extrasynaptic cholinoreceptors in common snail neurons.

Studies were conducted on the role of the Na,K pump and intracellular calcium in the previously observed phenomenon of increased cholinosensitivity of the somatic membranes of neurons LPa3 and RPa3 in the common snail, induced by electrical tetanic stimulation (10.5 mA. 0.1 sec, 2 impulses/sec; 2 min) of the afferent input (the intestinal nerve). Recordings were made of integral transmembrane acetylcholine-evoked currents by two-electrode membrane voltage clamping. After intracellular administration of the Na,K pump inhibitor ouabain (70 microM), there was no post-tetanic increase in neuron cholinosensitivity. Intracellular injection of the calcium ion chelator BAPTA suppressed the sensitization of somatic cholinoreceptors after orthodromal tetanization. It was concluded that the Na,K pump is involved in the mechanism of post-tetanic potentiation of cholinosensitivity in the bodies of defensive behavior command neurons in the common snail, this involvement being Ca-dependent.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interaction between serotonin and nitric oxide (NO) in the activation of the serotoninergic system in the common snail.

The effects of serotonin and NO donors on serotoninergic neurons (more than 60) in the brain of the common snail Helix lucorum were studied. Serotonin and NO donors induced depolarization in all neurons. and increased spike activity and activated the synchronous synaptic input, including train-like input. resulting in the onset of synchronous train activity in all these neurons. The excitatory effect of serotonin was significantly decreased by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5.7-DOT) and monomethylarginine--a blocker of endogenous NO synthesis. Both these substances blocked the serotonin activation of the synchronous train input. 5.7-DOT also blocked the activation of this input by NO donors. but had no effect on their excitatory actions. The effects of 5,7-DOT developed quickly, were reversible, and were comparable to the effects of serotonin receptor antagonists. The data obtained here provide evidence that serotonin and NO have similar regulatory effects on the serotoninergic system in the snail brain. Not only do they excite serotoninergic neurons, but they also coordinate their functioning by activating common synaptic inputs. which are apparently also serotoninergic. It is suggested that NO has the role of a second messenger during serotoninergic excitation and functions as a co-transmitter for the presynaptic input.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗
PubMed2003

Metabolism of ovorubin, the major egg lipoprotein from the apple snail.

The site of synthesis of molluscs lipoproteins is little known and was investigated for the egg lipoprotein perivitellin 1 (PV 1) or ovorubin in the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata. Tissues (albumen gland, gonad-digestive gland complex and muscle) of vitellogenic females were incubated in vitro at 25 degrees C for 12 h with 14C Leucine. After that, soluble proteins from tissue homogenates and medium samples were analysed for de novo protein synthesis by electrophoresis and HPLC, and radiolabelled proteins quantified by liquid scintillation. Gonad-digestive gland complex did not synthesise ovorubin, in spite its high protein synthesis levels. Three albumen gland radiolabelled proteins (35, 32 and 28 kDa) comigrated with the subunits of ovorubin and represented 1.3% of the total labelled protein of that tissue. Western blot analysis with polyclonal antibodies confirmed that these were ovorubin subunits. In vivo experiments where vitellogenic females were injected with 3H Leucine, revealed that ovorubin was not present in hemolymph. ELISA analysis confirmed ovorubin presence only in albumen gland and developing eggs with levels of 800 and 582 mg/g protein, which represent 30.3 and 28.4 mg ovorubin/g of tissue, respectively. Therefore, albumen gland is the single site of ovorubin synthesis as no extragland synthesis, circulation or accumulation could be detected in the apple snail.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Electrophysiological studies of the effects of 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine on the acquisition of a conditioned defensive reflex in snails.

The role of serotonin in the membrane properties of identified neurons was studied during acquisition of a conditioned defensive reflex. Serotonin deficiency was created using the neurotoxic serotonin analog 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine (5,6-DHT). Injection of 5,6-DHT was found to prevent decreases in the membrane and threshold potentials of command neurons during acquisition of the conditioned reflex as compared with snails given 5,6-DHT without training. Common snails recovered the ability to acquire the conditioned reflex two weeks after a second 5,6-DHT injection.

5,6-Dihydroxytryptamine↗
PubMed2003

Acid phosphatase complex from the freshwater snail Viviparus viviparus L. under standard conditions and intoxication by cadmium ions.

Acid phosphatases differing in both subcellular localization and substrate specificity were isolated for the first time from the liver of the freshwater snail Viviparus viviparus L. by preparative isoelectrofocusing. One of five characterized phosphatases is highly specific to ADP and the others can hydrolyze (at variable rate) a series of natural substrates. A scheme is proposed for the involvement of the studied phosphatases in carbohydrate metabolism. We have also studied some peculiarities of the effect of Cd2+ in vitro and in vivo on the activities of individual components of the acid phosphatase complex and corresponding changes in metabolism of the freshwater snail as a new test-object allowing the estimation of toxicity in water.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed2004

Relationship between post-tetanic potentiation of the cholinosensitivity of neurons in the common snail and a humoral factor.

Plots of post-tetanic changes in the amplitude of the acetylcholine-evoked influx current (the ACh current) in common snail command neurons were compared in different experimental conditions: with and without a flow of physiological saline through the chamber containing snail ganglia. Flow of physiological saline through the chamber containing the ganglia decreased the latent period and reduced the magnitude of the post-tetanic increase in the neuronal ACh current. The earlier and less marked post-tetanic potentiation of the ACh current in neurons with a flow of physiological saline through the chamber containing the ganglia are evidence for the involvement of a humoral factor in the mechanism of the post-tetanic increases in cholinosensitivity of the somatic membranes of postsynaptic neurons.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1981

Role of cyclic AMP in a serotonin-evoked slow inward current in snail neurones.

One model of synaptic transmission suggests that transmitters modify postsynaptic permeability through the intermediary of cyclic AMP. Thus, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) evokes in molluscan neurones a decrease in a voltage-dependent K+ conductance which in turn generates a slow inward current when studied in steady voltage-clamp conditions. The serotonin-induced increase of the plateau phase of the spike of an Aplysia sensory neurone can be mimicked by both intracellularly injected cyclic AMP and extracellularly applied phosphodiesterase inhibitors, suggesting that cyclic AMP mediates the effect. We have tested whether a similar mechanism could account for the serotonin slow inward current in identified snail neurones and have found that the intracellular injection of cyclic AMP, but not of cyclic GMP or 5'-AMP, evokes a slow inward current showing similar voltage dependence, inversion potential and ionic properties to the serotonin slow inward current. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors at low concentrations (1-20 microM) potentiate the serotonin slow inward current and at higher concentrations evoke by themselves an inward current, partially or totally occluding the serotonin and cyclic AMP currents. Finally, we have found that in homogenates of pooled identified snail neurones serotonin stimulates the adenylate cyclase, increasing its activity by 50-100%.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cholecystokinin induces a decrease in Ca2+ current in snail neurons that appears to be mediated by protein kinase C.

Three distinct classes of protein kinases have been shown to regulate Ca2+ current in excitable tissues. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase mediates the action of noradrenaline on the Ca2+ current of cardiac muscle cells. Cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase mediates the serotonin-induced modulation of the Ca2+ current in identified snail neurons. The Ca2+/diacylglycerol-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) has also been found to regulate Ca2+ currents of neurons. However, no neurotransmitter has yet been shown to regulate Ca2+ current through the activation of protein kinase C. We now report that cholecystokinin, a widely occurring neuropeptide which is present in molluscan neuron, modulates the Ca2+ current in identified neurons of the snail Helix aspersa, and that this effect appears to be mediated by protein kinase C. Specifically, sulphated cholecystokinin octapeptide 26-33 (CCK8), activators of protein kinase C, and intracellular injection of protein kinase C, all shorten the Ca2+-dependent action potential and decrease the amplitude of the Ca2+ current in these cells. All these effects are not reversible within the duration of the experiments. Moreover, intracellular injections of low concentrations of protein kinase C, which are ineffective by themselves, enhance the effectiveness of low concentrations of CCK8 on the Ca2+ current.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The transcription factor snail is a repressor of E-cadherin gene expression in epithelial tumour cells.

The adhesion protein E-cadherin plays a central part in the process of epithelial morphogenesis. Expression of this protein is downregulated during the acquisition of metastatic potential at late stages of epithelial tumour progression. There is evidence for a transcriptional blockage of E-cadherin gene expression in this process. Here we show that the transcription factor Snail, which is expressed by fibroblasts and some E-cadherin-negative epithelial tumour cell lines, binds to three E-boxes present in the human E-cadherin promoter and represses transcription of E-cadherin. Inhibition of Snail function in epithelial cancer cell lines lacking E-cadherin protein restores the expression of the E-cadherin gene.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1975

Food induced esterase phenocopies in the snail Cepaea nemoralis.

Hepatopancreatic extracts from the snail Cepaea nemoralis, assayed straight from the field, often contain three or four heavily staining esterase zones which migrate to the cathodal end of polyacrylamide disc gels during electrophoresis. Previous breeding results showed that the heavily straining zones appeared allelic but to incorporate these multibanded phenotypes, a super gene of five closely linked loci was tentatively proposed. Further breeding work again failed to demonstrate multiple zones in parents or offspring and so experiments were conducted to see whether the multi-zoned phenotypes in the wild were produced by secondary modification of single primary products. Wild snails yielding extracts containing more than two heavily staining zones were shown to possess only two such zones after three months under laboratory conditions. Also, the ingestion of nettle (Urtica dioica L.) has been demonstrated to induce extra esterase zones in laboratory-reared animals. Some of the secondarily induced zones appear identical in physical, biochemical and electrophoretic properties to the primary products of other alleles, and thus appear to be electrophoretic phenocopies. A model is suggested which could account for this phenomenon.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed2004

The transcription factor SNAIL represses vitamin D receptor expression and responsiveness in human colon cancer.

Several non-hypercalcemic analogs of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) show antitumor activity in a subset of cancer patients. High vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression, which is associated with good prognosis but is lost during tumor progression. We show that the SNAIL transcription factor represses VDR gene expression in human colon cancer cells and blocks the antitumor action of EB1089, a 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) analog, in xenografted mice. In human colon cancers, elevated SNAIL expression correlates with downregulation of VDR.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Snail genes at the crossroads of symmetric and asymmetric processes in the developing mesoderm.

Retinoic acid (RA) signalling ensures that vertebrate mesoderm segmentation is bilaterally synchronized, and corrects transient interferences from asymmetric left-right (L-R) signals involved in organ lateralization. Snail genes participate in both these processes and, although they are expressed symmetrically in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM), Snail1 transcripts are asymmetrically distributed in the L-R lateral mesoderm. We show that the alteration of the symmetric Snail expression in the PSM induces asynchronous somite formation. Furthermore, in the absence of RA signalling, normal asymmetric Snail1 expression in the lateral mesoderm is extended to the PSM, desynchronizing somitogenesis. Thus, Snail1 is the first cue corrected by RA in the PSM to ensure synchronized bilateral segmentation.

Animals↗