What causes anatoxin-a? Anatoxin-a is a toxin produced naturally by cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). Anatoxin-a has been found in some Minnesota surface waters that have had algal blooms. Some of the levels of
What causes anatoxin-a?
Anatoxin-a is a toxin produced naturally by cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). Anatoxin-a has been found in some Minnesota surface waters that have had algal blooms. Some of the levels of anatoxin-a in these surface waters were over the guidance value MDH developed.
How does Anatoxin cause paralysis in muscles?
Anatoxin is a severe neurotoxin, and as such affects the functioning of the nervous system, often causing death due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. It is known that it acts as a mimic of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine and irreversibly binds the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (NAChR).
How is Anatoxin treated?
Oxidation with ozone and potassium permanganate, or treatment with biological activated carbon, have been shown to be the most effective processes for the removal of dissolved microcystin-LR and anatoxin-a. Chlorination can be effective, but only for the removal of microcystin-LR.
What is anatoxin-a used for?
As such, anatoxin-a has been used for medicinal purposes to investigate diseases characterized by low acetylcholine levels. Due to its high toxicity and potential presence in drinking water, anatoxin-a poses a threat to animals, including humans.
What is BMAA toxin?
β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is an environmental toxin that is made by some kinds of cyanobacteria, blue-green bacteria that typically live in the ocean. BMAA can accumulate in fish and shellfish that ultimately are consumed by humans. This toxic compound has been linked to the development of ALS.
What produces microcystin?
Microcystins are produced by the strains of several genera of cyanobacteria, for example, Anabaena, Hapalosiphon, Microcystis, Nostoc, Planktothrix, and Phormidium. It is also well known that some strains of the same species produce microcystins, while some do not.
What should you do if you are exposed to cyanobacteria?
There are no specific antidotes for cyanobacterial toxins.
- For ingestion of contaminated water or seafood: Stop the exposure by avoiding contaminated seafood or water.
- For inhalation of aerosolized toxins: Stop the exposure by moving to a fresh, non-contaminated environment and treat respiratory symptoms accordingly.
How are small amounts of toxins removed from water?
Conventional water treatment (consisting of coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination) can generally remove cyanobacterial cells and low levels of toxins.
What are the effects of microcystin?
Human Health Effects Caused by the Most Common Toxin-producing Cyanobacteria
| Cyanotoxins | Acute Health Effects in Humans |
|---|---|
| Microcystin-LR | Abdominal pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting and nausea, dry cough, diarrhea, blistering around the mouth, and pneumonia |
| Cylindrospermopsin | Fever, headache, vomiting, bloody diarrhea |
What foods is BMAA found in?
Surprisingly, BMAA was found to be present in about half of the food we analyzed, including blue mussel, oyster, shrimp, plaice, herring and char as shown in Fig. 1 b–g. The contents of BMAA in these species were determined to be 0.01–0.90 μg/g wet weight of the sample tissues.
What foods are high in BMAA?
“We detected BMAA in blue mussel, oyster, shrimp, plaice, char and herring but not in salmon, cod, perch and crayfish,” says Liying Jiang, PhD student at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
What kind of effect does anatoxin a have?
Anatoxin-a is a nicotinic (cholinergic) agonist that binds to neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It has been suggested that the activation of presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by anatoxin-a results in an influx of Na+, producing sufficient local depolarization to open voltage sensitive Ca++ and Na+ channels.
How does anatoxin-a work on the presynaptic nicotinic receptors?
It has been suggested that the activation of presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by anatoxin-a results in an influx of Na+, producing sufficient local depolarisation to open voltage sensitive Ca++ and Na+ channels. The latter may then amplify the response, activating further Ca++ channels.
Which is an agonist of acetylcholine and anatoxin a?
Anatoxin-a is an agonist of both neuronal α4β2 and α4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors present in the CNS as well as the α12βγδ muscle-type nAchRs that are present at the neuromuscular junction. Anatoxin-a has an affinity for these receptors that is about 20 times greater than that of acetylcholine.
How long does it take for anatoxin a to kill a mouse?
They found that anatoxin-a kills mice 2–5 minutes after intraperitoneal injection preceded by twitching, muscle spasms, paralysis and respiratory arrest, hence the name Very Fast Death Factor. They determined the LD50 for mice to be 250 µg/kg body weight.