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Animal Toxins. A Collection of Papers Presented at the First International Symposium on Animal Toxins, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A., April 9–11, 1966 PDF

418 Pages·1967·15 MB·English
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Preview Animal Toxins. A Collection of Papers Presented at the First International Symposium on Animal Toxins, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A., April 9–11, 1966

ANIMAL TOXINS A collection of papers presented at the First International Symposium on Animal Toxins Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A., April 9-11, 1966 Edited by FINDLAY E. RUSSELL Director, Laboratory of Neurological Research Loma Linda University, Los Angeles County General Hospital, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A, and PAUL R. SAUNDERS Professor and Chairman, Department of Biological Sciences^ University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. SYMPOSIUM PUBLICATIONS DIVISION PERGAMON PRESS OXFORD • LONDON • EDINBURGH • NEW YORK TORONTO • SYDNEY • PARIS • BRAUNSCHWEIG Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford 4 & 5 Fitzroy Square, London, W.l Pergamon Press (Scotland) Ltd., 2 & 3 Teviot Place, Edinburgh 1 Pergamon Press Inc., 44-01 21st Street, Long Island City, New York 11101 Pergamon of Canada, Ltd., 6 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., 20-22 Margaret Street, Sydney, New South Wales Pergamon Press S.A.R.L., 24 rue des Ecoles, Paris 5e Vieweg & Sohn GmbH, Burgplatz 1, Braunschweig Copyright © 1967 Pergamon Press Ltd. First edition 1967 Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-29612 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BELL AND BAIN LTD., GLASGOW (3130/67) FOREWORD SIDNEY R. GALLER Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I take great pleasure in being with you this morning. In many ways this meeting represents a capstone to my activities during a long and enjoyable tour of duty with the United States Navy, Office of Naval Research. One of the foremost problems of a scientific nature which confronted me when I first arrived in ONR in 1948 was the problem of icthyosarcotoxism. Some of you may recall that what was popularly but accurately described as fish poisoning was an important problem confronting the allied forces during World War II, especially the United States military groups deployed in the Pacific. When viewed from the sophisticated scientific "heights" of today our initial efforts to cope with the problem of icthyosarcotoxism were rather naive. Nonetheless, I feel now as I felt then that the underlying concept which we developed in attempting to solve the problem was a sound one; namely, to identify scientists with a demonstrated competence and interest in the general area of marine toxinology, and invite them to join with us in assessing the status of the problem as well as in establishing a common community of interest. I must say that our interests ranged far and wide, and I hasten to add that the results of our first efforts were gratifying indeed, if quite unpredictable at the time. We brought together scientists, including your conveners: Dr. Russell, Dr. Saunders, Dr. Halstead, as well as Dr. Banner, Dr. Lane, and a host of others. During the almost two decades since 1948, the modest catalytic sponsorship from the ONR has paid off handsomely—beyond our fondest expectations. I hasten to add that we still haven't solved the problem; however, we are in a much better position today to avoid it. Perhaps far more important are the unanticipated "by products" of our modest program. This meeting today is singular testimony to the success of the scientific leaders in establishing an international community of interest in toxinology. This, the largest gathering of specialists in diverse fields of scientific endeavor, is assurance to me that we can expect contributions not only to our knowledge of toxinology but in many peripheral fields as well. The contributions to biochemistry, physiology, and pharmacology are already substantial and of basic importance. To me the most important product of research is not merely data, but an interdisciplinary interpretation of biological events. This can come only through continued close collaboration and constructive criticism among specialists who recognize no incompatability between their own intellectual interests and the solution of fundamentally important, as well as practical, problems requiring teamwork. In closing, let me assure you that I and many of my colleagues at the Smithsonian Institution are keenly interested in encouraging your research activities. We stand ready to assist you in every way appropriate. I wish you the fullest success in this International Symposium on Animal Toxins. v PREFACE In 1954 the First International Conference on Venoms was held in Berkeley, California, under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Subse- quently, a number of national and international meetings on venoms and plant poisons have been held in various cities throughout the world. Perhaps the most important of these was the Tenth Pacific Science Congress, 1961, sponsored by the United States Academy of Sciences and the Bernice Pauaki Museum of the University of Hawaii. The success of such meetings stimulated scholars to organize the First International Symposium on Animal Toxins for the International Society on Toxinology. From this Symposium, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1966, came the papers collected in this volume. Taken together, these papers constitute a compendium of current knowledge on animal toxins. Los Angeles, California FINDLAY E. RUSSELL April 12, 1966 PAUL R. SAUNDERS vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No undertaking of the present nature could be accomplished without the assistance of our friends and colleagues. Although it would be impossible to name the many people who have assisted in preparing this text, or to note those who helped with the Symposium in Atlantic City, we wish to thank all of them for their assistance. In particular, we wish to acknowledge the substantial assistance we have received from Doctors P. Rosenberg, B. C. Abbott and C. B. Alender; from Mrs. J. L. Russell, Mrs. Helena Lemp, Mrs. E. E. Buckley, Mrs. U. Smith, Mrs. B. Lane, Mrs. H. Hayes, Mr. L. Lauritzen, Mr. D. Majerus, Mr. P. Meadows and Dr. B. W. Halstead; and from Mr. James Gott of the Attending Staff Association of the Los Angeles County General Hospital, and from his organization. The Symposium was supported by contract N00014-66-C0068 of the United States Office of Naval Research, grant AC00273-01 of the Division of Accident Prevention, Public Health Service, and a grant from the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research. This record of the Symposium received additional support from Dr. Robert K. Cutter, Cutter Laboratories, Berkeley, California, to whom we are indebted. Sponsors of the Symposium were the International Society on Toxinology and the Division of Comparative Physiology of the American Society of Zoologists. We acknowledge the courtesies of Wyeth Laboratories and Ross Allen's Reptile Institute. Finally, we wish to express our particular thanks to the most diligent contributor to the Symposium and this text, Mrs. Yvonne Majerus, who as Corresponding Secretary for the International Society on Toxinology has spent unmeasurable time and effort in the prepara- tion of this book. We are indebted to her for her continued interest and patience. ix SECTION I. ARTHROPODS STRUCTURE OF THE VENOM GLAND OF THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER LATRODECTUS MACTANS. A PRELIMINARY LIGHT AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY* DAVID S. SMITH! and FINDLAY E. RUSSELLJ Laboratory of Neurological Research, Loma Linda University, Los Angeles County General Hospital, Los Angeles, California, and Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia INTRODUCTION IN AN EARLY anatomical and histological account, BORDAS [1] noted that the venom glands of Latrodectus are paired organs, discharging their secretion directly via a duct or canal to the apex of each chelicera, without the interpolation of a collecting reservoir. He describes the principal components of the cylindrical glands within which the venom is secreted: a well defined intrinsic muscular sheath in which the fibers run in a longitudinal-helical fashion, an underlying "supporting membrane" and a columnar epithelium of secretory cells. Sub- sequently, the cellular organization of the secretory epithelium of the venom gland of Latrodectus and other spiders has been investigated by several workers [2-6], The chief aims of several of these studies have been to establish, firstly, the mode of secretion of venom in the gland and, secondly, the response of the secretory epithelium following the expulsion of venom, and along these lines of enquiry, little agreement has been reached. BORDAS [2] and ANCONA [3] described a holocrine secretory mechanism in Latrodectus and Ctenus, cor- related with the presence of small basal "replacement cells" amongst the active cells of the epithelium, while MILLOT [4] reported the occurrence of merocrine secretion in the glands of Latrodectus. BARTH [6] postulated a more complex and non-regenerative sequence of secretory events in the venom gland, in which the products produced within the main glandular cells of the epithelium receive a secretory contribution from small basal "contiguous cells". These cells appear to correspond to the "replacement cells" of the other authors. This paper contains a preliminary report of a reinvestigation of the cytological structure of the components of the venom gland of Lactrodectus mactans, carried out primarily with the electron microscope. Evidence is presented on the mode of liberation of secreted products into the glandular lumen in "milked" animals, and of their retention and accumula- tion during periods when venom is not expelled. Observations on the intracellular synthesis and sequestration of the various components contributed to the venom by the cells of the secretory epithelium are at present very incomplete, and it is hoped that these problems may be considered more fully in a later report. * Supported by Grant NSF GB-1291 from the National Science Foundation, f Present address: School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida. J Present address: Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles County General Hospital, Los Angeles, Calfornia. 1 2 DAVID S. SMITH and FINLAY E. RUSSELL MATERIALS AND METHODS Spiders used in this work were collected from Altadena, California. Venom glands of adult individuals of L. mactans, together with the venom ducts and chelicerae, were dissected out under CO anaesthesia. The material was immediately placed in ice-cold 2-5 per cent s glutaraldehyde containing 0-17 M sucrose, maintained at pH 7-4 with 0-05 M cacodylate buffer. Fixation was continued for 2-3 hr, after which the tissue was passed through several changes of a washing solution containing 0*34 M sucrose in cacodylate buffer, over a period of at least 24 hr. In some instances, glands were successfully sent by air from California, Virginia in glass vials of washing solution packed in crushed ice, at this stage of processing. After washing, material was placed in ice-cold veronal acetate buffered 1 per cent osmium tetroxide, at pH 7-4, for 90 min, dehydrated in an ethanol series and embedded in Araldite via propylene oxide. Sections were cut with glass knives on a Huxley microtome, mounted on collodion-carbon coated grids, and stained first with saturated 50 per cent ethanolic uranyl acetate (10 min) and then with lead citrate [7] (2 min). Sections were examined in a Philips EM 200. For light microscopy, the same procedure was followed for fixing and embedding: 1 \x sections were cut with glass knives, dried and flattened by warming in a drop of distilled water on a slide, stained in a drop of hot 1 per cent toluidine blue with 1 per cent borax, washed in distilled water and mounted in immersion oil. RESULTS The muscular investment Histological studies mentioned earlier established that the venom glands of Latrodectus are invested with a compact series of intrinsic muscle fibers, running in a weak helix with respect to the long axis of the cylindrical gland. Thus, transverse sections of the gland also display transverse or slightly oblique profiles of the fibers, as is illustrated in the accom- panying light and electron micrographs (Figs. 3, 1 and 8). These are roughly rectangular in cross section, ca. 12-20 x 30-50 /x in size, and appear to traverse the length of the gland. Longitudinal sections of the fibers (Fig. 2) exhibit well defined striations with a sarcomere repeat of 5-6 /x. BARTH [6] suggested that morphologically distinguishable phasic and tonic fibers may be present in this sheath, but in the present study only one type has been noted, in which the contractile system virtually fills the cell, and is poorly demarcated into myo- fibrils (Fig. 8). As in muscles of other arthropods [8], these fibers receive multiterminal polyaxonal nerve-muscle junctions, and synaptic close apposition of muscle and nerve is illustrated in Fig. 8. Further details of the cytological organization of these fibers and their neuromuscular junctions will be presented separately (SMITH and RUSSELL; in preparation). The extracellular sheath A well defined sheath is situated between the muscle fibers of the gland and the basal surface of the secretory epithelium. This has been described as a "basal or supporting membrane" [1], a "connective tissue basement membrane" [5] and a "peritoneal membrane" [6]. This structure, 2-4 /x in thickness, is illustrated in Figs. 1-3 and 8, and will be referred to as the "extracellular sheath". Electron micrographs (Fig. 8) reveal that this sheath contains cross-banded closely packed collagen-like fibrils, with a major repeat period of ca. 660 A, embedded in a sparse matrix. The cellular derivation and embryological origin of this structure are not known. Both the fibrillar and matrix material extend in thin sheets between the adjoining muscle fibers, where they may ensure mechanical cohesion between Black Widow Spider Venom Gland 3 FIG. 1. TRANSVERSELY SECTIONED UNMILKED Latrodectus mactans VENOM GLAND. NOTE THE MUSCLE SHEATH (Mu) INVESTING THE GLAND AND THE UNDERLYING EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH (*). THE GLAND IS LARGELY FILLED WITH DROPLETS OF SECRETION OF VARYING DENSITY (S). CLUSTERS OF SMALL DARKLY STAINING NUCLEI (ARROW) OCCURRING IMMEDIATELY BENEATH THE EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH ARE BELIEVED TO BE THOSE OF REPLACEMENT CELLS. A PORTION OF THE LUMEN IS INCLUDED AT Lu. x 500. N.B. THIS LIGHT MICROGRAPH, AND THOSE REPRODUCED IN FIGS. 2 AND 3, WERE PREPARED FROM MATERIAL FIXED AND EMBEDDED FOR ELECTRON MICRO- SCOPY. SECTIONS WERE CUT WITH GLASS KNIVES ON AN ULTRAMICROTOME AT A THICKNESS OF Ca. AND STAINED WITH A HOT SOLUTION CONTAINING 1 PER CENT TOLUIDINE BLUE AND 1 PER CENT BORAX. FIG. 2. LONGITUDINALLY SECTIONED UNMILKED Latrodectus mactans VENOM GLAND. NOTE THE STRIATED MUSCLE FIBERS LIMITING THE GLAND (Mu) AND THE UNDERLYING EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH (*). LARGE BLOCKS OF SECRETION PRODUCT (S) VIRTUALLY FILL THE SECRETORY EPI- THELIUM. THE TRANSVERSE STRIATIONS IN THE EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH ARE AN ARTIFACT OF SECTIONING. THE LUMEN IS INCLUDED AT LU. X 500. FIG. 3. LIGHT MICROGRAPH OF A VENOM GLAND OF Latrodectus mactans FIXED WITHIN AN HOUR AFTER EXPULSION OF THE VENOM, AND SECTIONED TRANSVERSELY. NOTE THE MUSCLE FIBERS (Mu) AND THE EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH (*). THIS FIELD ILLUSTRATES AN ACTIVELY SECRETING EPITHELIUM CONTAINING SECRETORY DROPLETS (S) SITUATED AT VARIOUS LEVELS WITHIN THE CELLS, AT THE BORDER OF THE LUMEN (Lu) AND LYING FREE WITHIN THE LATTER. CELL DIS- SOLUTION DURING THE PROCESS OF RELEASE OF SECRETION IS SUGGESTED BY THE PRESENCE OF FREE NUCLEI WITHIN THE LUMEN OF THE GLAND AT n. NOTE THE SMALL DENSE NUCLEI SITUATED IMMEDIATELY BENEATH THE EXTRACELLULAR SHEATH (ARROWS; CF. FIG. 1)*. THESE ARE THOUGHT TO REPRESENT THE NUCLEI OF UNDIFFERENTIATED "REPLACEMENT CELLS" THAT BECOME ACTIVE TO TAKE THE PLACE OF EPITHELIAL CELLS LOST AS A RESULT OF HOLOCRINE SECRETION. X 700. FIG. 4. SURVEY ELECTRON MICROGRAPH OF THE BASAL AND CENTRAL AREAS OF SECRETORY CELLS IN A MILKED GLAND. A NUCLEUS, CLOSELY ADJOINING THE BASAL SURFACE, IS INCLUDED AT UPPER RIGHT (N) (CF. FIG. 3). THE EPITHELIAL CELLS HAVE A HIGHLY DISSECTED FORM, AND THIS MICROGRAPH REVEALS THE CHARACTERISTIC CLOSELY APPOSED TO INTERDIGITATING CELL PROCESSES; SOME OF THE CELL MEMBRANES LIMITING THESE ARE INDICATED WITH ARROWS. NOTE THE NUMEROUS PROFILES OF SPHERICAL SECRETION DROPLETS CONTAINED WITHIN THE CELL PROCESSES (S); THESE VARY BOTH IN SIZE AND ELECTRON DENSITY OR OSMIOPHILIA. X 7000. FIG. 5. A FIELD WITHIN MILKED GLAND, ILLUSTRATING A REGION OF APICAL SECRETORY CYTO- PLASM BORDERING THE LUMEN (Lu). IN THIS INSTANCE, THE CYTOPLASM (Cy) IS LARGELY FILLED WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF SECRETION DROPLETS (S), AND WHILE IN PLACES (ARROWS) THESE ADJOIN AN INTACT CELL MEMBRANE SURFACE, ELSEWHERE (*) THE LATTER APPEARS TO BE UNDERGOING FRAGMENTATION, WHICH PROCESS WILL ULTIMATELY RELEASE THE SECRETED MATERIALS AND CELL DEBRIS INTO THE LUMEN OF THE GLAND (CF. FIG. 6). X 17,000. FIG. 6. ELECTRON MICROGRAPH FURTHER ILLUSTRATING THE APICAL DISINTEGRATION OF THE SECRETORY EPITHELIUM IN A MILKED VENOM GLAND OF LatmdeCtUS mactans. NOTE THE NARROW INTERDIGITATING CELL PROCESSES (BLACK ARROWS) CONTAINING A FEW SECRETION DROPLETS (S). THESE PROCESSES APPEAR TO UNDERGO DISPERSION INTO SPHERICAL OR IRREGULAR FRAGMENTS (*) WHICH RETAIN THEIR INTEGRITY AS THEY PASS INTO THE LUMEN (WHITE ARROWS) (CF. FIG. 7). x 8000. Figs. 1, 2, & 3.

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