Disease relevance of Geodia

• Postmitochondrial fractions from marine sponges Geodia cydonium, Tethya aurantium, Verongia aerophoba and Pellina semitubulosa activate precarcinogenic aromatic amine 2-aminoanthracene, but not precarcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo(a)pyrene, to Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 mutagens [1].

High impact information on Geodia

• We have recently shown that the aggregation factor (AF) from the sponge Geodia cydonium stimulates DNA synthesis in quiescent, dissociated cells from the same organism; this event was correlated with the release of the two second messengers: inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol [2].
• A mitogenic lactose-binding lectin from the sponge Geodia cydonium [3].
• One, termed Geodia lectin I, was purified to near homogeneity by lactose elution from a column of hog A + H coupled to Sepharose 4B [3].
• The sialyltransferase (= glycoprotein-sialic acid transferase) was studied in the sponge Geodia cydonium, a mesozoan organism [4].
• Presented evidences suggest that cytokeratins are bound in vitro by mammalian galectin-3 and the galectins from the sponge Geodia cydonium via their type II carbohydrate recognition domains, whose highest binding affinity is directed towards terminal alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine-bearing glycans with the general sequence GalNAcalpha1-3Gal(NAc)beta [5].

Biological context of Geodia

• Expression of the human XPB/ERCC-3 excision repair gene-homolog in the sponge Geodia cydonium after exposure to ultraviolet radiation [6].
• The assessment of several parameters related to the biotransformation of mutagens/carcinogens showed that the metabolic machinery of sponge medulla cells is mainly oriented towards detoxification, with some differences depending on species (Geodia cydonium or Tethya aurantium) [7].
• Control of L5178y cell growth by the galactose-specific lectin from Geodia cydonium [8].
• Using the marine sponge Geodia cydonium we showed that during the initial phase of cell-cell contact the AF causes a rapid stimulation of the phosphatidylinositol pathway, resulting in an activation of protein kinase C and a subsequent phosphorylation of DNA topoisomerase II [9].

Associations of Geodia with chemical compounds

• Collagen, isolated from the sponge Geodia cydonium in the absence of denaturing agents, had the typical amino acid composition and was associated with the carbohydrates galactose and glucose [10].
• We demonstrate that the cells of the sponge Geodia cydonium are equipped with the basic elements required for a retinoic acid (RA)-dependent response pathway; RA was identified and quantitated, the cellular RA-binding protein (CRABP) was detected and the nuclear RA receptor (RAR) was found [11].
• We have isolated and characterized a cDNA clone encoding the alpha subunit of integrin from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium (GCINTEG) [12].
• Experimental indication in favor of the introns-late theory: the receptor tyrosine kinase gene from the sponge Geodia cydonium [13].
• The affinity of a lectin from the sponge Geodia cydonium (GCL-I) for multi-antennary Gal beta1-->4GlcNAc and Gal beta1-->3GalNAc ligands was studied by both the biotin/avidin-based microtiter plate lectin binding assay and the inhibition of lectin-glycoform interaction [14].

Gene context of Geodia

• The galectin from Geodia cydonium (GCA) had previously been shown to be involved in regulatory mechanisms of cell sorting and adhesion during reaggregation of allogeneic sponge cells [15].
• Cloning of the polyubiquitin cDNA from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium and its preferential expression during reaggregation of cells [16].
• Radioimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that the Geodia fractions contain--if at all--0.1% fibronectin or fibronectin like protein at the most [17].
• Cloning of sponge (Geodia cydonium) and tunicate (Botryllus schlosseri) proteasome subunit epsilon (PRCE): implications about the vertebrate MHC-encoded homologue LMP7 (PRCC) [18].
• Homologous cells (Geodia archaeocytes) were determined to attach only to those Geodia collagen substrates that contained CAF [10].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Geodia

• Molecular cloning of a tyrosine kinase gene from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium: a new member belonging to the receptor tyrosine kinase class II family [19].
• A D-galactose-specific lectin I was extracted from the sponge Geodia cydonium and purified by affinity chromatography [20].

References