Disease relevance of Mollusca

• Use of sodium dodecyl sulfate and zinc sulfate as reference substances for toxicity tests with the mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mollusca: Bivalvia) [1].
• A comparison of the properties of the Philine SCNs with those of similar serotonin-containing cerebral ganglion neurons in other gastropod molluscs provides evidence of homology with these neurons [2].
• Ecological cycle of thermostable direct hemolysin-producing strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in a brackish-water area with special reference to molluscs and attached microalgae [3].

Psychiatry related information on Mollusca

• Since memory loss is characteristic of Alzheimer disease (AD), and since K+ channels change during acquisition of memory in both molluscs and mammals, we investigated K+ channel function as a possible site of AD pathology and, therefore, as a possible diagnostic index as well [4].
• Nitric oxide (NO) signaling is involved in numerous physiological processes in mollusks, e.g., learning and memory, feeding behavior, neural development, and defence response [5].

High impact information on Mollusca

• Nonvertebrate Hbs range from single-chain globins found in bacteria, algae, protozoa, and plants to large, multisubunit, multidomain Hbs found in nematodes, molluscs and crustaceans, and the giant annelid and vestimentiferan Hbs comprised of globin and nonglobin subunits [6].
• CREB: a mediator of long-term memory from mollusks to mammals [7].
• We found that let-7 temporal regulation is also conserved: let-7 RNA expression is first detected at late larval stages in C. elegans and Drosophila, at 48 hours after fertilization in zebrafish, and in adult stages of annelids and molluscs [8].
• Hydrogen peroxide induces spawning in mollusks, with activation of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthetase [9].
• This review describes the state of the art of probiotic research in the culture of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and live food, with an evaluation of the results obtained so far [10].

Biological context of Mollusca

• Serotonin (5-HT) is a major neurotransmitter that influences various behaviors, neuronal plasticity, learning, and memory in molluscs [11].
• Both lack the ATPase8 subunit gene, have two tRNAs for methionine and a longer open-reading frame for cox3 than seen in other mollusks [12].
• A partial amino acid sequence shows a strong relationship to GSH transferases of parasitic helminths and molluscs, indicating that it is the first example of a vertebrate sigma-class GSH transferase, and suggesting that certain helminth GSH transferases may be involved in prostaglandin synthesis [13].
• One of the most salient results consonant with this hypothesis is that the transcription factor cAMP response element binding (CREB) is involved in the formation of memory in organisms with diverse phylogenetic background from mollusks to mammals [14].
• The present study provides the first example of an intron-containing gene encoding a tRNA in mollusks and suggests the universality of introns in such genes in higher eukaryotes [15].

Anatomical context of Mollusca

• C4 is absent in neurones, erythrocytes, and skeletal muscle but the epitope is evolutionarily conserved as it is present in invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans [16].
• Ecdysterone is likely to play the key role in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation processes in the heart muscle of crustaceans, and, most probably, also of molluscs [17].
• These results are quite different from those reported for other mollusks, suggesting the presence of unique 5-HT receptors on oyster oocytes [18].
• Hemocyanins are dioxygen-transporting proteins freely dissolved in the hemolymph of mollusks and arthropods [19].
• Cadmium was efficiently accumulated in nature to a mean concentration of 119, 33, and 50 micrograms/g wet tissue in the hepatopancreas of three species of molluscs, and 30%, 11%, and 43% of the element in each tissue of whelk, turbo, and squid was extracted to the soluble fraction, respectively [20].

Associations of Mollusca with chemical compounds

• The matrix is composed of a limited number of glycoproteins rich in aspx, glux, gly, ser, and ala, a composition not unlike that found in matrix proteins of biomineralized tissues of molluscs, sponges, and arthropods [21].
• Recently, octopamine receptors from molluscs and insects have been cloned [22].
• Histamine is a putative neurotransmitter in mammals and molluscs, but its role in the nervous systems of other animals is not known [23].
• Isolation and structural studies of heparan sulfates and chondroitin sulfates from three species of molluscs [24].
• Our finding emphasizes the prominent role of aspartic acid-rich proteins for the building of calcitic prisms among molluscs [25].

Gene context of Mollusca

• Phylogenetic analyses indicate that arthropod ftz genes are orthologous to the Lox5 genes of lophotrochozoans (a group that includes molluscs) [7] and, possibly, with the Mab-5 genes of nematodes and Hox6 genes of deuterostomes and would therefore have been present in the triploblast ancestor [26].
• NMDA receptor subunit 2A and 2B immunoreactivity is shown to be present in specific regions of the central nervous system (CNS) of the cephalopod molluscs Sepia officinalis and Octopus vulgaris [27].
• It was previously demonstrated that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling plays a pivotal role in neural plasticity and memory processes both in rodents and mollusks [28].
• NPF displays structural similarities to peptides from molluscs and vertebrate members of the neuropeptide Y (NPY)-superfamily of peptides [29].
• These studies have shown that transgelin is the product of a single gene which is conserved between yeast, Drosophila, molluscs, and humans [30].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Mollusca

• Recent biochemical evidence suggests that tropomyosin is also an allergen in molluscs, but data on the molecular cloning, nucleotide sequencing, expression and IgE binding to mollusc tropomyosin are lacking [31].
• Primary cell cultures obtained from somatic and larval tissues of bivalve molluscs and from embryos of sea urchins were frozen to -196 degrees C by two-step freezing using 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or/and trehalose (3-30 mg/ml) as cryoprotectants [32].
• Comparative analysis of DSP-contaminated mussel samples by HPLC and FDP/DDAO-PP-2A showed a good correlation among all methods, thus demonstrating that DDAO can be used as a fluorogenic substrate to quantify okadaic acid and related toxins in bivalve molluscs with optimum reliability [33].
• Arginine kinase (AK) was isolated from the radular muscle of the gastropod molluscs Cellana grata (subclass Prosobranchia) and Aplysia kurodai (subclass Opisthobranchia), respectively, by ammonium sulfate fractionation, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and DEAE-ion exchange chromatography [34].
• Tissue metal concentrations, filtration and oxygen uptake rates were investigated for Perna perna (Bivalvia: Mollusca) during exposure to Hg(2+), Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) (50 microg/l for 24 days, and 24 days recovery with no metal) [35].

References