Microcystins Microcystin

A powerful tool now employed is that of diode array detection (DAD). This function allows peaks detected by UV to be scanned, and provides a spectral profile for each suspected microcystin. Microcystins have characteristic absorption profiles in the wavelength range 200-300 nm, and these can be used as an indication of identity without the concomitant use of purified microcystin standards for all variants. A HPLC-DAD analytical method has also been devised for measurement of intracellular and extracellular microcystins in water samples containing cyanobacteria. This method involves filtration of the cyanobacteria from the water sample. The cyanobacterial cells present on the filter are extracted with methanol and analysed by HPLC. The filtered water is subjected to solid-phase clean-up using C g cartridges, before elution with methanol and then HPLC analysis. 

In the Slimmer of 1989, Rutland Water, the largest man-made lake in Western Europe and which supplies potable water to approximately 500 000 people in the East of England, contained a heavy bloom of Microcystis aeruginosa. By the end of the summer, a number of sheep and dogs had died after drinking from the bloom and concentrated scum. Analysis revealed that the cyanobacterial bloom material was toxic to laboratory mice, and that rumen contents from a poisoned sheep contained fivemicrocystin variants.Microcystins were detected in waters used for recreation in Australia at concentrations greater than 1 mg per... 

Daphnia assay, the brine shrimps are exposed to different concentrations of toxicant, and the toxicity is expressed as the LCjo value. Extracts of cyanobacterial blooms and laboratory cultures, containing microcystins or anatoxin-a, have been found to be toxic towards brine shrimp," and fractionation of such extracts resulted in brine shrimp fatalities only with fractions containing microcystins." " ... 

In vitro cytotoxicity assays using isolated cells have been applied intermittently to cyanobacterial toxicity testing over several years." Cells investigated for suitability in cyanobacterial toxin assays include primary liver cells (hepatocytes) isolated from rodents and fish, established permanent mammalian cell lines, including hepatocytes, fibroblasts and cancerous cells, and erythrocytes. Earlier work suggested that extracts from toxic cyanobacteria disrupted cells of established lines and erythrocytes," but studies with purified microcystins revealed no alterations in structure or ion transport in fibroblasts or erythrocytes,... 

At the molecular level, microcystins are potent inhibitors of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A. The activity of protein phosphatases can be determined by measuring... 

The ability to identify and quantify cyanobacterial toxins in animal and human clinical material following (suspected) intoxications or illnesses associated with contact with toxic cyanobacteria is an increasing requirement. The recoveries of anatoxin-a from animal stomach material and of microcystins from sheep rumen contents are relatively straightforward. However, the recovery of microcystin from liver and tissue samples cannot be expected to be complete without the application of proteolytic digestion and extraction procedures. This is likely because microcystins bind covalently to a cysteine residue in protein phosphatase. Unless an effective procedure is applied for the extraction of covalently bound microcystins (and nodiilarins), then a negative result in analysis cannot be taken to indicate the absence of toxins in clinical specimens. Furthermore, any positive result may be an underestimate of the true amount of microcystin in the material and would only represent free toxin, not bound to the protein phosphatases. Optimized procedures for the extraction of bound microcystins and nodiilarins from organ and tissue samples are needed. 

It is obvious from the provisional risk assessment values for microcystins, and, being of the same order of magnitude of mammalian toxicity, similar values may be calculated for the cyanobacterial neurotoxins, that sensitive detection methods are required to detect these low concentrations of toxins. Of the biological methods of detection discussed earlier, the mouse and invertebrate bioassays are not sensitive enough without concentration of water samples, in that they are only able to detect mg of microcystins per litre. Only the immunoassays (ng-/rg 1 and the protein phosphatase inhibition assays (ng O... 

Strongly hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides produced by some species of freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) (28). These microcystins represent a health risk to humans through drinking water, since they have been found to act as tumor promoters (29). Several chromatographic analytical procedures for microcystins have been... 

Figure 5.3 Analysis of 100 ml of (a) surface water and (b) drinking water sample spiked with 0.1 pig/ml of microcystins, using column-switching HPLC 1, microcystin-RR 2, microcystin-YR 3, microcystin-LR. Reprinted from Journal of Chromatography A, 848, H. S. Lee et al, On-line trace enrichment for the simultaneous determination of microcystins in aqueous samples using high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection , pp 179-184, copyright 1999, with permission from Elsevier Science.

H. S. Eee, C. K. Jeong, H. M. Eee, S. J. Choi, K. S. Do, K. Kim and Y. H. Kim, On-line trace emicliment foi the simultaneous determination of microcystins in aqueous samples using high peifoi mance liquid cliromatography with diode-aixay detection , /. Chromatogr. 848 179-184 (1999). 

R. W. MacKintosh, K. N. Dalby, D. G. Campbell, P. T. W. Cohen, P. Cohen and C. MacKintosh, The cyanobacterial toxin microcystin binds covalently to cysteine-273 on protein phosphatase 1 , FEBS Lett. 371 236-240 (1995). 

R. W. Moollan, B. Rae and A. Verbeek, Some comments on the detennination of microcystin toxins in water by liigh perfonnance liquid cliromatography. Analyst 121 233-238(1996). 

For in vitro studies there are a number of compounds available to block protein phosphatase activity. Phosphate buffers inactivate all of these enzymes. Several naturally occurring toxins are potent inhibitors of PPPs, e.g., okadaic acid or microcystin, and are frequently used tools. PPM and PTP family members are not affected by these toxins. Vanadate containing solutions are competitive inhibitors of PTPs, pervanadate is an irreversible inhibitor of PTPs. 

Lehman PW, Boyer G, Satchwell M, Waller S (2008) The influence of environmental conditions on the seasonal variation of Microcystis cell density and microcystins concentration in San Erancisco Estuary. Hydrobiologia 600 187-204... 

A. flos-aquae Strain S-23-g-l (Canada, Saskatchewan) Microcystins Heptapeptides MW 994 50... 

Af. aeruginosa Strain M-228 (Japan, Tokyo) Microcystin Heptapeptide MW 994 MW 1044 50... 

Figure 8. Left The cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxin microcystin-LA (cyanoginosin-LA) produced by the colonial cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa strain WR-70 (UV-010). MW = 909. Right The cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxin microcystin-LR (cyanoginosin-LR) produced by a waterbloom of the colonial cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa collected in Lake Akersvatn, Norway, 1984-85 MW=994, 69J1).

BHA, BHT, PG, TBHQ and tocopherols) a variety of stationary phases, mobile phases and detectors can be used [711]. Common antibacterials such as carba-dox, thiamphenicol, furazolidone, oxolinic acid, sul-fadimethoxine, sulfaquinoxaline, nalidixic and piromidic acid can be analysed by GE-RPLC-UV (at 254 nm). Collaborative studies have been reported for the HPLC determination of the antimicrobial sodium benzoate in aqueous solutions [712], Plastics devices used for field collection of water samples may contain polymer additives (such as resorcinol monobenzoate, 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone or bisphenol A) or cyanobac-terial microcystins [713],... 

Useful serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitors include microcystin-LR (which inhibits protein phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2C, and related enzymes) and /1-glycerophosphate. Sodium fluoride may also be employed. Sodium orthovanadate inhibits protein tyrosine phosphatases. 

In this laboratory, we also include the metal ion chelators EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid binds, e.g., Mg2 1 -ions) and EGTA (ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethyl)-Al,iV,iV/,iV/,-tetraacetic acid binds, e.g., Ca2+-ions) in our lysis buffers. These agents help prevent phosphatase action (by the metal ion-dependent phosphatase PP2C, which is not inhibited by microcystin-LR), metal (Ca2+) dependent proteinases, and protein kinases, which require divalent cations such as Mg2 1 (and, in some cases, also Ca2+). We also use a mix of proteinase inhibitors that inhibit a broad range of proteolytic enzymes, including serine and cysteine proteinases. 

---