Cytotoxic activity in the coelomic fluid of the annelidEisenia foetida Sav

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The annelidEisenia foetida not only causes hemolysis of red blood cells of several vertebrate species, but also has a toxic effect on a variety of cell types, such as chicken fibroblasts, guineapig polymorphonuclear leukocytes and insect hemocytes. However, it has not influence on the vitality of the coelomocytes ofLumbricus terrestris and other lumbricides, nor on the hemocytes of the snailHelix pomatia, the musselsAnodonta cygnea andUnio tumidus, free cells of the turbellarianEuplanaria sp. or wholeRhabditis oxycerca (nematode) and the protozoonsParamaecium caudatum and an amoeba of theProteus-type. By electrofocussing the hemolytic activity of pooled coelomic fluid was separated into 7 hemolytic bands. Three of them are cytotoxic. The cytotoxic effect is a result of the destruction of the cell membrane, as shown by measuring the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal action of the coelomic fluid ofE. foetida against a broad spectrum of gram positive and gram negative bacteria was tested. An antibacterial activity could be observed only againstProteus vulgaris andBacillus megaterium. It was noted that the so-calledEisenia foetida-factor acts on an antigenic structure at the cell surface when anti-sheep-E-antibody was used under competitive conditions. The binding between theEisenia foetida-factor and this membrane structure is relatively strong as it cannot be removed by subsequent treatment with anti-sheep-E-antibody or 2 M KCl.

This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit: