Effects of Polar Steroids from the Starfish Patiria (=Asterina) pectinifera in Combination with X-Ray Radiation on Colony Formation and Apoptosis Induction of Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cells.

Despite significant advances in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of cancer, the disease continues to affect millions of people worldwide. Chemoradiation therapy is a rational approach that has already proven beneficial for several malignancies. However, the existence of toxicity to normal tissue is a serious limitation of this treatment modality. The aim of the present study is to investigate the ability of polar steroids from starfish Patiria (=Asterina) pectinifera to enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy in colorectal carcinoma cells. The cytotoxic activity of polar steroids and X-ray radiation against DLD-1, HCT 116, and HT-29 cells was determined by an MTS assay. The effect of compounds, X-ray, and their combination on colony formation was studied using the soft agar method. The molecular mechanism of the radiosensitizing activity of asterosaponin P1 was elucidated by western blotting and the DNA comet assay. Polar steroids inhibited colony formation in the tested cells, and to a greater extent in HT-29 cells. Asterosaponin P1 enhanced the efficacy of radiation and, as a result, reduced the number and size of the colonies of colorectal cancer cells. The radiosensitizing activity of asterosaponin P1 was realized by apoptosis induction through the regulation of anti- and pro-apoptotic protein expression followed by caspase activation and DNA degradation.

Impact of natural and calcined starfish (Asterina pectinifera) on the stabilization of Pb, Zn and As in contaminated agricultural soil.

Metal stabilization using soil amendments is an extensively applied, economically viable and environmentally friendly remediation technique. The stabilization of Pb, Zn and As in contaminated soils was evaluated using natural starfish (NSF) and calcined starfish (CSF) wastes at different application rates (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 wt%). An incubation study was conducted over 14 months, and the efficiency of stabilization for Pb, Zn and As in soil was evaluated by the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test. The TCLP-extractable Pb was reduced by 76.3-100 and 91.2-100 % in soil treated with NSF and CSF, respectively. The TCLP-extractable Zn was also reduced by 89.8-100 and 93.2-100 % in soil treated with NSF and CSF, respectively. These reductions could be associated with the increased metal adsorption and the formation of insoluble metal precipitates due to increased soil pH following application of the amendments. However, the TCLP-extractable As was increased in the soil treated with NSF, possibly due to the competitive adsorption of phosphorous. In contrast, the TCLP-extractable As in the 10 % CSF treatment was not detectable because insoluble Ca-As compounds might be formed at high pH values. Thermodynamic modeling by visual MINTEQ predicted the formation of ettringite (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O) and portlandite (Ca(OH)2) in the 10 % CSF-treated soil, while SEM-EDS analysis confirmed the needle-like structure of ettringite in which Pb was incorporated and stabilized in the 10 % CSF treatment.

Starase: A bi-functional fibrinolytic protease from hepatic caeca of Asterina pectinifera displays antithrombotic potential.

A bi-functional fibrinolytic serine protease, Starase exhibiting thrombolytic potency was purified from hepatic caeca of Asterina pectinifera. Starase showed a single band of approximately 48 kDa by SDS-PAGE and fibrin zymography. The N-terminal sequence of Starase was AIPTEFDARTKKHNN, which does not match with any known fibrinolytic enzyme. Starase had optimum amidolytic activity at 50 °C and pH 8.0 and the activity was inhibited by PMSF and APMSF. Starase showed the highest specificity toward the substrate H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA for plasmin followed by pyroGlu-Gly-Arg-pNA for urokinase. The apparent Km and Vmax values of Starase toward a chromogenic substrate for plasmin H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA were determined as 1.37 mM and 6.8 mM/min/mg respectively. The fibrinolytic activity of Starase by fibrin plate assay displayed that it could not only directly degrade fibrin clot but also activate plasminogen. Starase showed a strong fibrinogenolytic activity, cleaving all three major chains of fibrinogen rapidly. In addition, Starase with more than 1 µg could cleave extracellular matrix component type VII collagen, and plasma proteins such as bovine albumin and bovine gamma globulin. It could also inhibit factor Xa and thrombin activity. Starase at a dose of 0.8 mg/kg was devoid of hemorrhagic activity and it demonstrated antithrombotic effect in three animal models; FeCl2-induced carotid arterial thrombus model, carrageenan-induced tail thrombosis model and collagen and epinephrine induced pulmonary thromboembolism mice model. These results suggest that Starase has the potential to be a potent thrombolytic agent due to its bi-functional properties (containing both direct-acting and plasminogen-activating activities) and lack of hemorrhagic activity. Although Starase might interfere with the normal composition of the plasma proteins, it may be used not only for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis, but also in a number of biomedical applications.

Pyrrole and furan oligoglycosides from the starfish Asterina batheri and their inhibitory effect on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells.

Three new pyrrole oligoglycosides, astebatheriosides A-C (1-3), and a new furan oligoglycoside, astebatherioside D (4), were isolated from the starfish Asterina batheri by various chromatographic methods. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 2, 3, and 4 moderately inhibited IL-12 p40 production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) with IC50 values of 36.4, 31.6, and 22.8µM, respectively.

Inhibitory effects of Asterina pectinifera extracts on melanin biosynthesis through tyrosinase activity.

The control of melanogenesis is an important strategy in the treatment of abnormal skin pigmentation for cosmetic purposes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-melanogenic effect of Asterina pectinifera (A. pectinifera) extracts by cell-free mushroom tyrosinase assay, cellular tyrosinase assay, melanin content assay and the analysis of related protein expression in melan-a cells. A. pectinifera was extracted with 80% methanol (80-MAP) and further fractionated with hexane (He-AP) and ethyl acetate (EA-AP). In addition, the enzyme extract (En-AP) of A. pectinifera, to which protease was added, was processed. EA-AP and En-AP among A. pectinifera extracts showed strong inhibitory activity against the cell-free mushroom tyrosinase activity. EA-AP and En-AP induced significant inhibition of melanin production and cellular tyrosinase activity. In the action of EA-AP and En-AP on melanogenesis, they reduced the expression of melanogenic genes and proteins including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1) and dopachrome tautomerase (Dct). These results showed that EA-AP and En-AP inhibited melanogenesis by reducing tyrosinase activity and melanin production via subsequent downregulation of tyrosinase-related proteins. The overall results suggest that EA-AP and En-AP among A. pectinifera extracts may be promising candidates for the treatment of hyperpigmentation disorder and useful for self-tanning cosmetic products.

In vitro anti-HIV-1 activity of the aqueous extract of Asterina pectinifera.

An aqueous extract of starfish, Asterina pectinifera, was investigated for its anti-HIV-1 efficiency in vitro on human T-cell lines. A. pectinifera significantly maintained the viability of HIV-infected cells as much as 86% of the untreated infected control cells at the non-toxic concentrations (0.05~4 mg/mL) in CEM-SS cells. Anti-HIV-1 activity of A. pectinifera extract was further supported by quantification of syncytia formation, reverse transcriptase activity and Western blot analysis in C8166, CEM-SS and H9 cells, respectively. Current results demonstrated a notable inhibition of HIV-1 induced syncytia formation and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity assay with EC50 of 0.71 mg/mL and 0.65 mg/mL, respectively. Moreover, A. pectinifera extract treatment decreased the production of p24 protein and gene expression of HIV-1 viral infection factor in a dose-dependent manner according to immunoblot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis. In the light of current study, it can be concluded that A. pectinifera contains highly potential anti-HIV-1 components and a further investigation for active compound isolation is urged.

The effect of a phytosphingosine-like substance isolated from Asterina pectinifera on involucrin expression in mite antigen-stimulated HaCaT cells.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of phytosphingosine (PS) on mite antigen-induced terminal differentiation abnormalities in HaCaT cells. For this purpose, a PS-like substance was isolated from Asterina pectinifera (starfish PS) using high-performance liquid chromatography and was partially characterized through 1H NMR analysis. The level of involucrin expression in HaCaT cell was measured by immunoblotting assay. Our results showed that PS treatments remarkably up-regulated the involucrin expression, which is known as a terminal differentiation marker in the epidermal mite antigen-treated HaCaT cells. This indicates that starfish PS could regulate mite antigen-induced terminal differentiation fluctuation in the epidermis. Taken together, the results suggest that starfish PS might be a useful therapeutic agent for atopic dermatitis.

Polyhydroxy steroids and saponins from China Sea starfish Asterina pectinifera and their biological activities.

A new polyhydroxy sterol ester, (25S)-5alpha-cholestane-3beta,6alpha,7alpha,8,15alpha,16beta-hexahydroxyl-26-O-14'Z-eicosenoate (1), together with seven known steroid derivatives (2-8), were isolated from the EtOH extract of the whole body of China Sea starfish Asterina pectinifera. The structure of 1 was determined by using extensive spectra analysis (IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and MS), chemical degradation, and comparison with the known compound (25S)-5alpha-cholestane-3beta,6alpha,7alpha,8,15alpha,16beta,26-heptol (2). All the isolates were evaluated for their antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and their cytotoxicity against human liver carcinoma HepG2 cell line in vitro. Compounds 3-6, and 8 exhibited antiviral activity against HSV-1 virus with the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.2, 0.05, 0.2, 0.22, and 0.07 microM, respectively. While compounds 4 and 5 exhibited cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells with IC(50) values of 0.2 and 1.6 microM, respectively.

Chemopreventive effects of polysaccharides extract from Asterina pectinifera on HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells.

We examined the effects of polysaccharides extracted from Asterina pectinifera on the activities of quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and glutathione (GSH) levels in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. We found that the polysaccharides extract induced QR activity in a dose-dependent manner over a concentration range of 20 approximately 60 microg/ml and increased GST activity as much as 1.4-fold over controls. GSH levels were increased 1.3- and 1.5-fold with the extract at 40 and 60 microg/ml, respectively. The activity and protein expression of ODC in 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced colon cancer cells was inhibited by the extract. The polysaccharides suppressed TPA-induced prostaglandin (PG) production. These data indicate that polysaccharides from A. pectinifera increase phase II detoxification enzyme activity and inhibit ODC and COX-2 activities in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Consequently, this effect may contribute to the protective effect of polysaccharides from A. pectinifera against colon cancer.

A relaxin-like peptide purified from radial nerves induces oocyte maturation and ovulation in the starfish, Asterina pectinifera.

Gonad-stimulating substance (GSS) of starfish is the only known invertebrate peptide hormone responsible for final gamete maturation, rendering it functionally analogous to the vertebrate luteinizing hormone (LH). Here, we purified GSS of starfish, Asterina pectinifera, from radial nerves and determined its amino acid sequence. The purified GSS was a heterodimer composed of 2 different peptides, A and B chains, with disulfide cross-linkages. Based on its cysteine motif, starfish GSS was classified as a member of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)/relaxin superfamily. The cDNA of GSS encodes a preprohormone sequence with a C peptide between the A and B chains. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that starfish GSS was a relaxin-like peptide. Chemically synthesized GSS induced not only oocyte maturation and ovulation in isolated ovarian fragments, but also unique spawning behavior, followed by release of gametes shortly after the injection. Importantly, the action of the synthetic GSS on oocyte maturation and ovulation was mediated through the production of cAMP by isolated ovarian follicle cells, thereby producing the maturation-inducing hormone of this species, 1-methyladenine. In situ hybridization showed the transcription of GSS to occur in the periphery of radial nerves at the side of tube feet. Together, the structure, sequence, and mode of signal transduction strongly suggest that GSS is closely related to the vertebrate relaxin.

Identification of guanylate cyclases and related signaling proteins in sperm tail from sea stars by mass spectrometry.

Marine invertebrates employ external fertilization to take the advantages of sexual reproduction as one of excellent survival strategies. To prevent mismatching, successful fertilization can be made only after going though strictly defined steps in the fertilization. In sea stars, the fertilization process starts with the chemotaxis of sperm followed by hyperactivation of sperm upon arriving onto the egg coat, and then sperm penetrate to the egg coat before achieving the fusion. To investigate whether the initiation of chemotaxis and the following signaling has species specificity, we conducted comparative studies in the protein level among sea stars, Asterias amurensis, A. forbesi, and Asterina pectinifera. Since transcription of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) has been suppressed in gamete, the roles of sperm proteins during the fertilization cannot be investigated by examining the mRNA profile. Therefore, proteomics analysis by mass spectrometry was used in this study. In sea stars, upon receiving asteroidal sperm-activating peptide (asterosap), the receptor membrane-bound guanylate cyclases in the sperm tail trigger sperm chemotaxis. We confirmed the presence of membrane-bound guanylate cyclases in the three sea star species, and they all had the same structural domains including the extracellular domain, kinase-like domain, and guanylate cyclase domain. The majority of peptides recovered were from alpha-helices distributed on the solvent side of the protein. More peptides were recovered from the intracellular domains. The transmembrane domain has not been recovered. The functions of the receptors seemed to be conserved among the species. Furthermore, we identified proteins that may be involved in the guanylate cyclase-triggered signaling pathway.

Chemopreventive effect of protein extract of Asterina pectinifera in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells.

We investigated the effect of protein extract of Asterina pectinifera on the activity of 4 enzymes that may play a role in adenocarcinoma of the colon: quinone reductase (QR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. QR and GST activity increased in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells increased that had been exposed to 4 concentrations of the protein extract (80, 160, 200, and 240 microg/mL). Additionally, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ODC activity decreased significantly in cells exposed to the extract in concentrations of 160 microg/mL (p<0.05), 200 microg/mL (p<0.005), and 240 microg/mL (p<0.005). TPA-induced COX-2 activity also decreased in cells exposed to extract concentrations of 10, 20, 40, and 60 microg/mL. COX-2 expression was also inhibited in cells exposed to this extract. These results suggest that this protein extract of A pectinifera has chemopreventive activity in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells, and therefore, may have the potential to function as a chemopreventive agent in human colorectal cancer.

A novel polyhydroxyl sterol from Asterina pectinifera.

A novel polyhydroxyl sterol (1) along with one known polyhydroxyl sterol (2), and two known monoglycosides, asterosaponin P1 (3) and its desulfated monoglycoside (4), have been isolated from the whole bodies of a common Pacific starfish Asterina pectinifera. The structure of the new polyhydroxyl sterol was determined as 15beta,16beta-isopropylidenedioxy-5alpha-cholestane-3beta,4beta,6alpha,7alpha,8,26-hexaol by spectroscopic methods, including FABMS, HR-FABMS, 1D and 2D NMR techniques.