Comprehensive Proteome Reveals the Key Lethal Toxins in the Venom of Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai

Jellyfish venom is well known for its local skin toxicities and various lethal accidents. The main symptoms of local jellyfish envenomation include skin lesions, burning, prickling, stinging pain, red, brown, or purplish tracks on the skin, itching, and swelling, leading to dermonecrosis and scar formation. However, the molecular mechanism behind the action of jellyfish venom on human skin cells is rarely understood. In the present study, we have treated the human HaCaT keratinocyte with Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish venom (NnV) to study detailed mechanisms of actions behind the skin symptoms after jellyfish envenomation. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS), cellular changes at proteome level were examined. The treatment of NnV resulted in the decrease of HaCaT cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Using NnV (at IC50), the proteome level alterations were determined at 12 h and 24 h after the venom treatment. Briefly, 70 protein spots with significant quantitative changes were picked from the gels for MALDI-TOF/MS. In total, 44 differentially abundant proteins were successfully identified, among which 19 proteins were increased, whereas 25 proteins were decreased in the abundance levels comparing with their respective control spots. DAPs involved in cell survival and development (e.g., Plasminogen, Vinculin, EMILIN-1, Basonuclin2, Focal adhesion kinase 1, FAM83B, Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma co-activator 1-alpha) decreased their expression, whereas stress or immune response-related proteins (e.g., Toll-like receptor 4, Aminopeptidase N, MKL/Myocardin-like protein 1, hypoxia up-regulated protein 1, Heat shock protein 105 kDa, Ephrin type-A receptor 1, with some protease (or peptidase) enzymes) were up-regulated. In conclusion, the present findings may exhibit some possible key players during skin damage and suggest therapeutic strategies for preventing jellyfish envenomation.

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Comparative assessment of the biological toxicity of scyphozoan jellyfish species (Nemopilema nomurai, Cyanea nozakii, Aurellia aurita and Rhopilema esculentum) venoms

Journal of Preventive Veterinary Medicine ◽

10.13041/jpvm.2020.44.4.179 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 179-185

Keyword(s):

Comparative Assessment ◽

Nemopilema Nomurai ◽

Biological Toxicity ◽

Rhopilema Esculentum ◽

Jellyfish Species ◽

Scyphozoan Jellyfish

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Monthly Geographical Distribution of Nemopilema nomurai (Scyphozoa: Rhizosotomeae) in the Bohai and North Yellow Seas: a Preliminary Study using Ships of Opportunity

Ocean Science Journal ◽

10.1007/s12601-018-0050-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 699-706

Author(s):

Wonduk Yoon ◽

Kiyeon Hahn ◽

Jing Dong ◽

Jinho Chae

Keyword(s):

Geographical Distribution ◽

Nemopilema Nomurai ◽

Preliminary Study

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Danio rerio as an alternative vertebrate model for jellyfish venom study: The toxinological aspects of Nemopilema nomurai venom

Toxicology Letters ◽

10.1016/j.toxlet.2020.10.012 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 335 ◽

pp. 91-97

Author(s):

Ramachandran Loganathan Mohan Prakash ◽

Du Hyeon Hwang ◽

Il-Hwa Hong ◽

Jinho Chae ◽

Changkeun Kang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Danio Rerio ◽

Nemopilema Nomurai ◽

Vertebrate Model ◽

Jellyfish Venom

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Defensive Venoms: Is Pain Sufficient for Predator Deterrence?

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins12040260 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 260 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Crystal N. Niermann ◽

Travis G. Tate ◽

Amber L. Suto ◽

Rolando Barajas ◽

Hope A. White ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neuronal Activity ◽

Tissue Damage ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Scorpion Venom ◽

Neurological Dysfunction ◽

Centruroides Sculpturatus ◽

Lethal Toxins

Pain, though unpleasant, is adaptive in calling an animal’s attention to potential tissue damage. A long list of animals representing diverse taxa possess venom-mediated, pain-inducing bites or stings that work by co-opting the pain-sensing pathways of potential enemies. Typically, such venoms include toxins that cause tissue damage or disrupt neuronal activity, rendering painful stings honest indicators of harm. But could pain alone be sufficient for deterring a hungry predator? Some venomologists have argued “no”; predators, in the absence of injury, would “see through” the bluff of a painful but otherwise benign sting or bite. Because most algogenic venoms are also toxic (although not vice versa), it has been difficult to disentangle the relative contributions of each component to predator deterrence. Southern grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) are voracious predators of arthropods, feeding on a diversity of scorpion species whose stings vary in painfulness, including painful Arizona bark scorpions (Centruroides sculpturatus) and essentially painless stripe-tailed scorpions (Paravaejovis spinigerus). Moreover, southern grasshopper mice have evolved resistance to the lethal toxins in bark scorpion venom, rendering a sting from these scorpions painful but harmless. Results from a series of laboratory experiments demonstrate that painful stings matter. Grasshopper mice preferred to prey on stripe-tailed scorpions rather than bark scorpions when both species could sting; the preference disappeared when each species had their stingers blocked. A painful sting therefore appears necessary for a scorpion to deter a hungry grasshopper mouse, but it may not always be sufficient: after first attacking and consuming a painless stripe-tailed scorpion, many grasshopper mice went on to attack, kill, and eat a bark scorpion even when the scorpion was capable of stinging. Defensive venoms that result in tissue damage or neurological dysfunction may, thus, be required to condition greater aversion than venoms causing pain alone.

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