Cephalopod Studies for Human Wellbeing

No fish tale: Squid 'teeth' could one day help with reconstructive surgery, study says

A protein found in squids may be the basis for strong but shapeable new biomaterials.
Each of the suction cups on squid tentacles, which the marine animals use to grab prey, contains a ring of sharp teeth.
The materials made from these “teeth” could eventually be used for everything from reconstructive surgery to artificial ligaments to eco-friendly packaging, according to a new study published in the American Chemical Society’s ACS Nano journal.
The squid sucker ring teeth (SRT) are made entirely of proteins, which sets them apart from other polymers, researchers said.
For a previous study, the scientists identified and decoded one of the “suckerin” proteins and discovered that it can be transformed into different shapes.
In the new study, researchers in Singapore said they have found 37 more of these proteins in two species of squid and a cuttlefish.
They said the SRT proteins could prove to be an alternate to spider silk, which scientists have been trying to harness for years because of its incredible strength and flexibility.
“We envision SRT-based materials as artificial ligaments, scaffolds to grow bone and as sustainable materials for packaging, substituting for today's products made with fossil fuels,” study author Ali Miserez said in a release. “There is no shortage of ideas, though we are just beginning to work on these proteins.”

Nanoconfined β-Sheets Mechanically Reinforce the Supra-Biomolecular Network of Robust Squid Sucker Ring Teeth
Paul A. Guerette†, Shawn Hoon, Dawei Ding, Shahrouz Amini, Admir Masic, Vydianathan Ravi, Byrappa Venkatesh, James C. Weaver, and Ali Miserez

nn-2014-02149u_0007.gif


Abstract
The predatory efficiency of squid and cuttlefish (superorder Decapodiformes) is enhanced by robust Sucker Ring Teeth (SRT) that perform grappling functions during prey capture. Here, we show that SRT are composed entirely of related structural “suckerin” proteins whose modular designs enable the formation of nanoconfined β-sheet-reinforced polymer networks. Thirty-seven previously undiscovered suckerins were identified from transcriptomes assembled from three distantly related decapodiform cephalopods. Similarity in modular sequence design and exon–intron architecture suggests that suckerins are encoded by a multigene family. Phylogenetic analysis supports this view, revealing that suckerin genes originated in a common ancestor
223C.gif
350 MYa and indicating that nanoconfined β-sheet reinforcement is an ancient strategy to create robust bulk biomaterials. X-ray diffraction, nanomechanical, and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements confirm that the modular design of the suckerins facilitates the formation of β-sheets of precise nanoscale dimensions and enables their assembly into structurally robust supramolecular networks stabilized by cooperative hydrogen bonding. The suckerin gene family has likely played a key role in the evolutionary success of decapodiform cephalopods and provides a large molecular toolbox for biomimetic materials engineering.
 
A Drug to Fight Chemical Weapons
July 19, 2014. By Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin

Early on Aug. 21, 2013, rockets filled with toxic agents were fired into the suburbs of Damascus, Syria, killing 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. This attack, believed to have been perpetrated by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, occurred despite President Obama’s “red line,” proving that political threats alone cannot deter the use of chemical weapons.
The U.S. and Russia responded to that attack by convincing Assad to relinquish his chemical weapons arsenal, but researchers at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville are arguing for an entirely different approach for future crises. They want to employ advanced quantum and molecular mechanics to design an enzyme that neutralizes deadly nerve agents within the human body. The prophylactic would essentially immunize people against many of the world’s most lethal and horrific weapons.
...
 
Therapeutic effect of Sepia ink extract against invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in mice
Sohair R. Fahmy, Enas M. Ali, Nevien S. Ahmed 2014 (full paper)

Abstract
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a life-threatening disease in immunocompromised patients that requires aggressive therapy. Because of the widespread use of antibiotics, corticosteroids, antitumor drugs, and immunosuppressive drugs, the morbidity of IPA is currently increasing. The ink secretion of molluscan species was identified as one of the novel sources of bioactive compounds. So the present study designed to investigate the antifungal and antioxidant effects of Sepia officinalis ink extract against IPA in mice. Eighty neutropenic infected mice were randomly assigned into four main groups (20 mice/group). The 1st group was treated with saline, neutropenic infected, the 2nd group was treated with ink (200 mg/kg) and the 3rd group was treated with amphotericin B (150 mg/kg) and the 4th group was treated with ink plus amphotericin B (Ink 200 mg/kg and AMB 150 mg/kg). Treatment was started at 24 h after fungal inoculation and was administered for 3 consecutive days. The present study demonstrated good in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of IE against Aspergillus fumigatus. Compared with IPA group; IE-treated, AMB-treated, and AMB + IE-treated animals had a 67.80%, 83.41%, and 72.68% reduction in the pulmonary fungal burden, respectively. Treatment with IE and/or AMB for one and three days significantly decreased MDA and increased GSH and SOD levels in the lung tissues as compared with the infected untreated group. In conclusion, the results of our in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that IE has therapeutic effect against invasive pulmonary aspergillosis via reducing oxidative stress
.
 
Materials Fabrication from Native and Recombinant Thermoplastic Squid Proteins
Abdon Pena-Francesch, Sergio Florez, Huihun Jung, Aswathy Sebastian, Istvan Albert, Wayne Curtis, Melik C. Demirel 2014 (subscription)

Natural elastomers made from protein extracts have received significant interest as eco-friendly functional materials due to their unique mechanical and optical properties emanating from secondary structures. The next generation sequencing approach is used to identify protein sequences in a squid ring teeth complex extracted from Loligo vulgaris and the use of recombinant expression is demonstrated in the fabrication of a new generation of thermoplastic materials. Native and recombinant thermoplastic squid proteins exhibit reversible solid to melt phase transition, enabling them to be thermally shaped into 3D geometries such as fibers, colloids, and thin films. Direct extraction or recombinant expression of protein based thermoplastics opens up new avenues for materials fabrication and synthesis, which will eventually be competitive with the high-end synthetic oil based plastics.
 
Well-Armed Design: 8 Octopus-Inspired Technologies
By Alyssa Danigelis, Live Science Contributor | September 29, 2014

The octopus has inspired much technological innovation, and with good reason. This cephalopod is dexterous underwater, can camouflage itself, has well-developed vision, muscular arms, sensory suction cups and a soft body.
"The octopus is a fascinating animal, very special indeed, given its muscular structure that works like a modifiable skeleton," said Cecilia Laschi, a biorobotics professor at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.
Laschi is currently editing a special issue of the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, slated to be published this fall, about octopus-inspired robotics. [See photos of various octopus-inspired technologies] ...

The article goes on to discuss 8 new technologies based upon octopus biologics.
 
Microbiology: Here's looking at you, squid
Ed Yong article in Nature 1/2015

Ed discusses leading edge biologists' using bobtail squid to discover how bacteria partners with physical development.

Margaret McFall-Ngai has dissected the relationship between a beautiful squid and its live-in bacteria — and found lessons for microbiome research on the way.
 
I'm calling this one "mental" health :grin"

What Can Cuttlefish Tell Us About Tactile Screens? UIUC Researchers Aim To Find Out

Next generation display screens won't be like anything we've ever seen in the digital world before.

But they might look like something in the natural world.

Cuttlefish skin to be exact. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers are hypothesizing that the cuttlefish's ability to seamlessly camouflage into its surroundings by quickly manipulating its skin into various colors and textures may be key to innovating next generation display screens that not only display brilliant colors, but can interact through touch. Now researchers from UIUC's Beckman Institute, an interdisciplinary research center, are studying cuttlefish at a cellular and 3D level to gain insights that could be used in displays.

“Imagine being able to feel an image, not just see it,” said said Steven Allan Boppart, engineering professor and head of the research team to Engineering at IL. ...
 
Preparation of potent antioxidant peptide from edible part of shortclub cuttlefish against radical mediated lipid and DNA damage
Sekar Sudhakar, Dr. Rasool Abdul Nazeer 2015 (subscription)

Abstract
In this current investigation, the antioxidant peptides were derived from marine Sepia brevimana mantle by trypsin, α-chymotrypsin and pepsin for 12 hours hydrolysis. The active peptides were found in the hydrolysates of trypsin and α-chymotrypsin at the 7th hour and pepsin at the 8th hour. The highest activity was found in trypsin hydrolysate compared to others using various radical scavenging and metal ions transition assays, further the hydrophobic amino acids were observed in more quantity along with other amino acids. Active peptide was purified by consecutive chromatographic techniques and evaluated by DPPH (38.81±1.07%) and reducing power assays (0.478±0.03). The purified peptide exhibited significant inhibition for the linoleic acid auto-oxidation in the model system, protective effect on DNA damage due to hydroxyl radical induction and was non-toxic even at higher concentration. The mass and sequence of the peptide was found to be 679.5 Da and Ile/Leu-Asn-Ile/Leu-Cys-Cys-Asn, respectively. The current results suggested that cuttlefish peptide could be used as natural antioxidant in enhancing antioxidant properties of functional foods and in preventing oxidation reactions in food processing.
 
Squid Beak Proteins Inspire scientists for Hip, Knee Implants

Hip and knee implants, made of polyethylene or plastic, need to be replaced approximately every 15 years due to wear and tear. Assistant Professor Ali Miserez and his research team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore discovered that the protein structure of beaks of squids could be mimicked to create joint implants for humans. Squid beaks comprise of interlinked chitin fibres, similar to that in insects and crustaceans, as well as concentrated liquid protein solution that diffuses throughout these chitin fibres. The concentrated liquid protein diffuses all the way to the tip of the beak, hardens, and acts as a binder, analogous to superglue hardening when exposed to air.

The beak of the jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is fascinating; a 200-fold stiffness gradient begins in the hydrated chitin of the soft beak base and gradually increases to maximum stiffness in the dehydrated distal rostrum. The scientists combined RNA-Seq and proteomics to show that the beak contains two protein families. One family consists of chitin-binding proteins (DgCBPs) that physically join chitin chains, whereas the other family comprises highly modular histidine-rich proteins (DgHBPs). DgHBPs play multiple key roles during beak bioprocessing, first by forming concentrated coacervate solutions that diffuse into the DgCBP-chitin scaffold, and second by inducing crosslinking via an abundant GHG sequence motif. These processes generate spatially controlled desolvation, resulting in the impressive bio-mechanical gradient.

While explaining the downside of current joint implants, Prof Miserez shared that, “You have this very stiff material coming into contact with very soft flesh, and you have deep tissue damage.” He believed that implants made with materials resembling squid beaks would prevent tissue damage in patients and prolong the lifespan of implants.

Dr Andrew Dutton, medical director and orthopaedic surgeon of SMG orthopaedic group, also raised his concerns on current cartilage implants, “(Current cartilage implants) are very soft, they can break down, they can loosen and come off, and they may not be well incorporated.”

The NTU scientists aim to create next-generation joint implants using high performance natural resources like chitin from waste seafood, and create the concentrated liquid protein in their laboratory.

Source: The Straits Times.

The original paper can be accessed here.
 
The vertical lobe of cephalopods: an attractive brain structure for understanding the evolution of advanced learning and memory systems
T. Shomrat, A. L. Turchetti-Maia, N. Stern-Mentch, J. A. Basil & B. Hochner (with a nod to nautilus work by @robyn )
Journal of Comparative Physiology A Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology ISSN 0340-7594 J Comp Physiol A DOI 10.1007/s00359-015-1023-6 2015 (pdf)

Abstract
In this review we show that the cephalopod vertical lobe (VL) provides a good system for assessing the level of evolutionary convergence of the function and organization of neuronal circuitry for mediating learning and memory in animals with complex behavior. The pioneering work of JZ Young described the morphological convergence of the VL with the mammalian hippocampus, cerebellum and the insect mushroom body. Studies in octopus and cuttlefish VL networks suggest evolutionary convergence into a universal organization of connectivity as a divergence-convergence (‘fan-out fan-in’) network with activity-dependent long-term plasticity mechanisms. Yet, these studies also show that the properties of the neurons, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction and maintenance are highly variable among different species. This suggests that complex networks may have evolved independently multiple times and that even though memory and learning networks share similar organization and cellular processes, there are many molecular ways of constructing them.
 
In vitro antioxidant, antimutagenic and antiproliferative activities of collagen hydrolysates of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) byproducts

Guadalupe Miroslava Suárez-Jiménez , Rosario Maribel Robles-Sánches, Glória Yépiz-Plascencia , Armando Burgos-Hernández , Josafat Marina Ezquerra-Brauer 2015 (full text)

INTRODUCTION

The interest in finding antioxidants from natural sources has become one of the fastest growing fields of study in food chemistry all over the world in the recent years (Lin & Li, 2006), the latter due to their potential of being used for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated to reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially cancer (Je et al., 2005); they are known to be beneficial to human health as they may protect the body against membrane lipids, protein, and DNA damage (Samaranayaka & Li-Chan, 2011).

Seafood byproducts have been reported as a good source of antioxidant compounds (Je et al., 2005; Jeon et al., 2002), from which squid byproducts are one of the alternative sources of these natural antioxidants. Among squid species, jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas), in addition to being the largest known cephalopod, presents a high amount of byproducts produced during its processing (skin, fins, arms, and head) (Lin & Li, 2006), which have collagen as the most prevalent protein (Alemán et al., 2011a; Gildberg et al., 2002). Collagen has a particular molecular structure, which is rich in non-polar amino acids (above 80%) such as glycine, alanine, valine, and proline, and provides collagen specific properties (Kim & Mendis, 2006).

The main jumbo squid byproduct studied until now is skin. Skin collagen has been enzymatically hydrolyzed to recover proteins and peptide fractions. The peptides isolated from squid skin collagen hydrolysates have shown numerous beneficial properties such as antihypertensive, antithrombotic, immunomodulatory, antiproliferative, and antioxidative activities (Alemán et al., 2011a; Gómez-Guillén et al., 2011; Kim & Mendis, 2006). Moreover, it is known that the molecular size, hydrophobicity, and exposition of polar groups of the peptides produced depend on the enzyme used for protein hydrolysis; this also influences their bioactive properties(Kristinsson, 2007).

Based on the available scientific literature, there is scarce information about the functional properties of jumbo squid fins and arms collagen hydrolysates. Furthermore, due to the structural differences between collagen extracted from fins and that from arms (Torres-Arreola et al., 2008), it is possible that these differences may be reflected in the collagen hydrolysates properties.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the antioxidant, antimutagenic, and antiproliferative activities of two jumbo squid by-products (fins and arms) collagen hydrolysates obtained by digestion with two different proteases, as measured by free radical scavenging activity assays (DPPH and ABTS), Ames test, and MTT assay respectively.
 
Animal movement analyzed, with unlikely help from an octopus
Sep 25, 2015 | Life & Non-humans, Physics & Mathematics

A linguist and marine biologist at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences began an unlikely project two years ago to compare the movement of the human tongue with the manipulation of the arms of the octopus and the undulation of a small worm known as C. elegans.

The researchers encountered a problem during their observations — the local species of octopus near Catalina Island did not show up daylight hours. However, the scientists were able to find substitute cephalopods in Japan that were active when the sun was out. As a result, the team had hours of video to analyze, and two USC participants in the study reported their progress at an Australian conference held in August.

Titled “Dynamical Principles of Animal Movement,” the project is supported by the National Science Foundation. Its principal investigators at USC Dornsife are Khalil Iskarous, assistant professor of linguistics, and Andrew Gracey, associate professor of biological sciences.

As a linguist, Iskarous hopes the research will help explain how movements of the human tongue are compromised by Parkinson’s disease, but he said the NSF research is aimed at broader questions of motor control.

“When we’re trying to accomplish a physical task, such as reaching for something, it is in three-dimensional space, and we require the coordination of muscles and joints to achieve that task,” he said. “Our muscles and joints have many ‘degrees of freedom’ — they can be flexed or extended in different ways to accomplish a task — and we’re asking how the motor control system of an animal, including a human, will reduce those degrees of freedom to manage things in the environment.”

Iskarous and his colleagues want to know how the process of reducing degrees of freedom unfolds and how it can be quantified.

Getting octopus on camera
The original subjects for the octopus observations are two closely related species — Octopus bimaculoides and Octopus bimaculatus — that live in the waters near the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. These local cephalopods hunt at night, but the available light was unsuitable for video recording. The octopus experts on the research team subsequently found replacements with help from Japanese colleagues at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and the University of the Ryukyus.

Ikeda Yuzuru, a cephalopod expert on the faculty at Ryukyus, and his graduate students directed the USC team to a Japanese reef inhabited by octopus of the genus Abdopus. The team members traveled to Okinawa last year, and they spent weeks wading through the water at low tide with high-definition GoPro camcorders mounted on selfie sticks.

“We wanted to take as much video as we could of natural octopus behavior,” said Jean Alupay, a marine biologist and postdoctoral scholar in the USC Dornsife departments of linguistics and biological sciences. “We videotaped for the entire low tide. We were out there for about a month, recording all of these animals in natural behaviors in a foot or less of water.”

Alupay said the researchers captured mating behavior, defensive behavior and a particularly interesting “arm slapping” behavior of an octopus during an extended “interaction” with a goby fish. The octopus appeared to be whipping one of its arms at the fish, an action that likely involves visual perception to direct the slapping behavior and then the physical action of curling its arm and rapidly extending it.

Using calculus for comparisons
The researchers are enhancing the octopus video to show the outlines of their arms when they’re in motion and to place coordinates along those outlines for interpretation using calculus.

“Calculus allows us to look at basic ideas of curvature and change — temporal change and spatial change,” Iskarous said.

Calculus will allow comparison of octopus movements to other subjects in the NSF research project — including C. elegans, a tiny nematode worm. USC Wrigley Institute faculty member Gracey is studying the worm to determine the connection between its genetics and its behavior.

C. elegans measures 1 millimeter end-to-end, and decades of research have documented the characteristics of every one of its 959 cells. Gracey and Iskarous are particularly concerned with cells in the worm that process dopamine, a neurotransmitter that influences movement and motor control.

Later this year, Iskarous will begin work to analyze the movement of the tongue and the production of speech based on observations of people, including those with Parkinson’s. He’ll work on this phase of the project withShrikanth Narayanan, professor of linguistics, psychology and neuroscience at USC Dornsife and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Together, they will compare the movement and curvature of the human tongue to the movements of the worms that have undergone modifications to their neural circuits.
 
Toxicity in Cephalopods
Ira R. Cooke, Brooke Whitelaw, Mark Norman, Nikeisha Caruana, Jan M. Strugne 2015 (subscription)
Abstract
Cephalopods are a morphologically diverse molluscan class that includes octopuses, cuttlefishes, squids, and nautiluses. The behavior, morphology, and sometimes aposematic appearance of coleoid cephalopods (octopuses, cuttlefishes, and squids) are highly suggestive of the widespread use of toxins for predation and/or defense. Many cephalopods use a combination of their parrot-like beak and/or toothed radula to inject venomous saliva, thought to be produced in the posterior salivary gland, into prey through a bite wound or a hole drilled into the shell. However, relatively few toxins have been studied to date from only a narrow range of cephalopods. Active components that have been identified from cephalopod posterior salivary gland extracts (or saliva) include neurotoxins such as tetrodotoxin (also found in body tissues), tachykinins and cephalotoxins, biogenic amines such as serotonin and octopamine, and a diverse range of enzymes including serine proteases, phospholipase A2, hyaluronidases, and chitinases. Coleoid cephalopods represent excellent candidates for biodiscovery, being taxonomically distinct from heavily studied venom-producing organisms, and because their venoms appear to be complex mixtures of proteins and small molecules. Understanding the evolutionary history of toxicity in cephalopods remains a challenge, with many major taxa remaining unstudied and very little specific functional information available on most cephalopod toxins. The application of “omics” technologies to research on venoms and other toxic secretions (“venomics”) is an important and powerful way of characterizing entire suites of proteinaceous toxins from pure venom or gland extracts in cephalopods and is likely to yield future insights into the evolution of toxicity in this class.
 

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