Biomedical subjects

Terry W Snell

Publications and source records attributed to Terry W Snell.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Bromophycolides C-I from the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus.

Bromophycolides C-I (1-7) were isolated from extracts of the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus and identified by NMR and mass spectral techniques. These novel natural products share a carbon skeleton and biosynthetic origin with previously identified bromophycolides A (8) and B (9), which form a rare group of diterpene-benzoate macrolides. Bromophycolides C-I (1-7) displayed modest antineoplastic activity against a range of human tumor cell lines.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2005

Antineoplastic diterpene-benzoate macrolides from the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus.

[structures: see text] Three diterpene-benzoate natural products, with novel carbon skeletons and an unusual proposed biosynthesis, were isolated from extracts of the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus and identified by a combination of X-ray crystallographic, NMR, and mass spectral analyses. Bromophycolide A (1) displayed cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines via specific apoptotic cell death. This represents the first discovery of natural products incorporating a diterpene and benzoate skeleton into a macrolide system.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed2005

Profiling differential gene expression of corals along a transect of waters adjacent to the Bermuda municipal dump.

A coral cDNA array containing 32 genes was used to examine the gene expression profiles of coral populations located at four sites that varied with distance from a semi-submerged municipal dump in Castle Harbour, Bermuda (previously identified as a point source of anthropogenic stressors). Genes on the array represent transcripts induced under controlled laboratory conditions to a variety of stressors both natural (temperature, sediment, salinity, darkness) and xenobiotic (heavy metals, pesticides, PAH) in origin. The gene expression profiles produced revealed information about the types of stressors. Consistent with other studies undertaken in Castle Harbour, the coral cDNA array detected responses to heavy metals, sedimentation, as well as oxidative stress.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Development of a coral cDNA array to examine gene expression profiles in Montastraea faveolata exposed to environmental stress.

The development of a cDNA array of coral genes and its application to investigate changes in coral gene expression associated with stressful conditions is described. The array includes both well-characterized and previously unidentified coral genes from Acropora cervicornis and Montastraea faveolata. Corals were exposed to either natural or anthropogenic stressors to elicit the expression of stress genes for isolation and incorporation onto the array. A total of 32 genes involved in protein synthesis, apoptosis, cell signaling, metabolism, cellular defense and inflammation were included on the array. Labeled cDNA from coral (Montastraea faveolata) exposed to elevated seawater temperature, salinity and ultraviolet light was tested against the microarray to determine patterns of gene expression associated with each stressor. Carbonic anhydrase, thioredoxin, a urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and three ribosomal genes demonstrated differential expression across all replicates on the array and between replicate colonies. Specific gene expression patterns produced in response to different stressors demonstrate the potential for gene expression profiling in characterizing the coral stress response.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Gene expression profiling in ecotoxicology.

Gene expression profiling is a powerful new end point for ecotoxicology and a means for bringing the genomics revolution to this field. We review the usefulness of gene expression profiling as an end point in ecotoxicology and describe methods for applying this approach to non-model organisms. Since genomes contain thousands of genes representing hundreds of pathways, it is possible to identify toxicant-specific responses from this wide array of possibilities. Stressor-specific signatures in gene expression profiles can be used to diagnose which stressors are impacting populations in the field. Screening for stress-induced genes requires special techniques in organisms without sequenced genomes. These techniques include differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD PCR), suppressive subtractive hybridization PCR (SSH PCR), and representational difference analysis. Gene expression profiling in model organisms like yeast has identified hundreds of genes that are up-regulated in response to various stressors, including several that are well characterized (e.g., hsp78, metallothionein, superoxide dismutase). Using consensus PCR primers from several animal sequences, it is possible to amplify some of these well characterized stress-induced genes from organisms of interest in ecotoxicology. We describe how several stress-induced genes can be grouped into cDNA arrays for rapidly screening samples.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Estrogenic compounds affect development of harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of estrogenic compounds on the harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus after continuous exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations. Natural estrogen (17beta-estradiol), three known estrogenic compounds in vertebrates (bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, p-t-octylphenol), and an invertebrate molting hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone) were tested for their effects on development and reproductive characters in two successive generations of T. japonicus. Less than 24-h-old nauplii (parentals) were exposed to four sublethal concentrations of these compounds for 21 d at 25 degrees C. The first brood of nauplii (F1) produced was monitored further under the same culture conditions and exposures to test compounds. Results showed that all estrogenic compounds affected development (both in number of days to reach copepodid stage and sexual maturity) in the parental generation. Similar effects were apparent in the F1; however, fecundity, sex ratio, and survival were not significantly affected, even at concentrations as high as 10 microg/L (nominal concentration). The invertebrate molting hormone 20-hyroxyecdysone had no detectable effect on any of the endpoints tested but gave the lowest 48-h 50% lethal concentration (LC50) value. The results suggest that endocrine disruption could occur in copepods following exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of estrogenic compounds, especially if they are exposed starting from embryonic development.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Characterizing stress gene expression in reef-building corals exposed to the mosquitoside dibrom.

We characterize two genes expressed in Acropora cervicornis upon exposure to 0.5 microg/l of dibrom, a pesticide used for mosquito control in the Florida Keys. Fragments of these genes were isolated, sequenced, and developed into chemiluminescent probes for Northern slot blots. Expression of target transcripts was detected in corals exposed to a variety of stressors including organophosphates, organochlorines, heavy metals, naphthalene, and temperature. Within the context of stressors examined, the D25 probe demonstrates toxicant and concentration specificity for organophosphates, whereas the D50 probe had broader specificity, detecting transcripts in corals exposed to dibrom, naphthalene, and temperature stress. After characterizing specificity in the lab, these probes were used on field samples taken from the Florida Keys. Both probes detected their targets in samples taken from the upper Florida Keys in August 2000. Preliminary search of sequence databases suggest similarity exists between D25 and a thioesterase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗