河豚毒素生态作用研究进展

河豚毒素(tetrodotoxin, TTX)取名于河豚鱼,最早从河豚鱼中分离纯化.自1964年河豚毒素化学结构被阐明以后,河豚毒素研究得到了生物学家、毒理学家、化学家、药理学家的广泛关注.河豚毒素具有许多天然同系物.河豚毒素及其同系物在自然界分布广泛,存在于一系列不同进化水平的海洋生物和少量的两栖动物体内.河豚毒素及其同系物可能具有防御、捕食及信息传递等生态作用,毒素在生物体内的分布与其生态作用密切相关.含有河豚毒素的生物对河豚毒素具有一定的耐受能力,其机制可能与生物体内存在河豚毒素结合蛋白或生物自身具有独特的钠离子通道结构有关.重点针对河豚毒素的生态作用及生物对河豚毒素的耐受机制进行了综述,以期为河豚毒素生态学研究及河豚毒素中毒事件的防范提供科学资料.

Advances in studies on the ecological roles of tetrodotoxin

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), which was named after the puffer family Tetraodontidae, was first isolated from pufferfish in the 1950s. The structure of TTX was determined in 1964, since then TTX studies have attracted wide attentions from biologists, toxicologists, chemists and pharmacologists. TTX and many of its naturally-occurring analogues have been found in a range of marine organisms and in a few amphibians. It has been suggested that TTX and its analogues probably play a role in defense, predation or communication, and the tissue distribution of the toxins in TTX-bearing animals is highly relevant to its potential ecological roles. TTX-bearing animals show high resistance to TTX and its analogues, which is possibly due to the presence in these animals of TTX-binding proteins or uniquely-structured sodium-ion channels. This article reviews recent advances in the studies on the ecological roles of TTX, the resistance mechanisms of TTX-bearing organisms, and the prevention of TTX-poisoning.