scholarly journals A Minireview on Biodiscovery in Antarctic Marine Benthic Invertebrates

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conxita Avila ◽  
Carlos Angulo-Preckler

Antarctic marine benthic invertebrates are an underexplored source of natural products for biodiscovery. Bioactive marine natural products from Antarctica are reviewed here for their potential use as drugs, considering the main examples in Porifera (15 species), Cnidaria (eight species), Mollusca (one species), Bryozoa (one species), Nemertea (one species), Echinodermata (six species), and Tunicata (five species). A wide variety of bioactivities are reported here, from antitumoral to antimicrobial activities, as well as against neurodegenerative diseases and others. If we aim to use their chemodiversity for human benefits we must maintain the biodiversity, solving the supply problem, speeding up the process, and decreasing research costs to fully exploit the benefits of biodiscovery in Antarctic Marine Natural Products in a near future in a sustainable way.

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merve Erkisa ◽  
Melda Sariman ◽  
Oyku Gonul Geyik ◽  
Caner Geyik Geyik ◽  
Tatjana Stanojkovic ◽  
...  

: Cancer is still a deadly disease, and its treatment desperately needs to be managed in a very sophisticated way through fast-developing novel strategies. Most of the cancer cases eventually develop into recurrencies, for which cancer stem cells (CSCs) are thought to be responsible. They are considered as a subpopulation of all cancer cells of tumor tissue with aberrant regulation of self-renewal, unbalanced proliferation, and cell death properties. Moreover, CSCs show a serious degree of resistance to chemotherapy or radiotherapy and immune surveillance as well. Therefore, new classes of drugs are rushing into the market each year, which makes the cost of therapy increase dramatically. Natural products are also becoming a new research area as a diverse chemical library to suppress CSCs. Some of the products even show promise in this regard. So, the near future could witness the introduction of natural products as a source of new chemotherapy modalities, which may result in the development of novel anticancer drugs. They could also be a reasonably-priced alternative to highly expensive current treatments. Nowadays, considering the effects of natural compounds on targeting surface markers, signaling pathways, apoptosis, and escape from immunosurveillance have been a highly intriguing area in preclinical and clinical research. In this review, we present scientific advances regarding their potential use in the inhibition of CSCs and the mechanisms by which they kill the CSCs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Hurley ◽  
Jorg Hardege ◽  
Katharina C. Wollenberg Valero ◽  
Simon Morley

<p>Microplastics have been recognised as persistent marine contaminants and mounting evidence supports their designation as anthropogenic stressors to marine organisms. Despite the remoteness of Antarctica, microplastics contamination has been reported in every marine environment investigated in this area to date. Due to ocean currents and frontal systems, microplastics may become entrapped within polar regions and increase bioavailibilty to inhabiting fauna. Antarctic marine benthic invertebrates represent a research priority due to their sensitivity to change as well as contribution to ecological functioning and food webs. The current study investigated microplastics ingestion by the epifaunal, carnivorous polychaete <em>Barrukia cristata</em> and the infaunal, filter-feeding bivalve, <em>Laternula elliptica</em>. Animals were collected by SCUBA adjacent to Rothera research station, Adelaide Island. After digestion in 10 % potassium hydroxide (KOH) followed by filtration, microplastics ingested by individual animals were separated. Microplastics were then counted and characterised by shape, colour, size and polymer type by Micro-Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the most abundant polymer type, followed by polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). Congruent to earlier reports, fibres were found to be the most abundant source of microplastics contamination. However, it must be highlighted that fragments were also recovered from the animals analysed. Results determined the current level of microplastics ingestion by two benthic marine invertebrates of different feeding strategies in coastal environments of the Antarctic Peninsula. These findings indicated the bioavailability of microplastics and highlighted the potential of trophic transfer throughout the Antarctic marine food web.</p>


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Sajad Fakhri ◽  
Akram Yarmohammadi ◽  
Mostafa Yarmohammadi ◽  
Mohammad Hosein Farzaei ◽  
Javier Echeverria

In recent decades, several neuroprotective agents have been provided in combating neuronal dysfunctions; however, no effective treatment has been found towards the complete eradication of neurodegenerative diseases. From the pathophysiological point of view, growing studies are indicating a bidirectional relationship between gut and brain termed gut-brain axis in the context of health/disease. Revealing the gut-brain axis has survived new hopes in the prevention, management, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Accordingly, introducing novel alternative therapies in regulating the gut-brain axis seems to be an emerging concept to pave the road in fighting neurodegenerative diseases. Growing studies have developed marine-derived natural products as hopeful candidates in a simultaneous targeting of gut-brain dysregulated mediators towards neuroprotection. Of marine natural products, carotenoids (e.g., fucoxanthin, and astaxanthin), phytosterols (e.g., fucosterol), polysaccharides (e.g., fucoidan, chitosan, alginate, and laminarin), macrolactins (e.g., macrolactin A), diterpenes (e.g., lobocrasol, excavatolide B, and crassumol E) and sesquiterpenes (e.g., zonarol) have shown to be promising candidates in modulating gut-brain axis. The aforementioned marine natural products are potential regulators of inflammatory, apoptotic, and oxidative stress mediators towards a bidirectional regulation of the gut-brain axis. The present study aims at describing the gut-brain axis, the importance of gut microbiota in neurological diseases, as well as the modulatory role of marine natural products towards neuroprotection.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula de França ◽  
Esther Camilo ◽  
Fabiana Fantinatti-Garboginni

ABSTRACT Marinobacter sp. strain ANT_B65 was isolated from sponge collected in King George Island, Antarctica. The draft genome of 4,173,840 bp encodes 3,743 protein-coding open reading frames. The genome will provide insights into the strain’s potential use in the production of natural products.


Planta Medica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
DA Colosimo ◽  
F Cai ◽  
Y Hu ◽  
MB Potts ◽  
MA White ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
K. F. Albizati ◽  
V. A. Martin ◽  
M. R. Agharahimi ◽  
D. A. Stolze

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