Immunological and Toxinological Responses to Jellyfish Stings

Abstract

Just over a century ago, animal responses to injections of jellyfish extracts unveiled the phenomenon of anaphylaxis. Yet, until very recently, understanding of jellyfish sting toxicity has remained limited. Upon contact, jellyfish stinging cells discharge complex venoms, through thousands of barbed tubules, into the skin resulting in painful and, potentially, lethal envenomations. This review examines the immunological and toxinological responses to stings by prominent species of jellyfish including Physalia sp. (Portuguese Man-o-War, Blue-bottle), Cubozoan jellyfish including Chironex fleckeri, several Carybdeids including Carybdea arborifera and Alatina moseri, Linuche unguiculta (Thimble jellyfish), a jellyfish responsible for Irukandji syndrome (Carukia barnesi) and Pelagia noctiluca. Jellyfish venoms are composed of potent proteinaceous porins (cellular membrane pore-forming toxins), neurotoxic peptides, bioactive lipids and other small molecules whilst the tubules contain ancient collagens and chitins. We postulate that immunologically, both tubular structural and functional biopolymers as well as venom components can initiate innate, adaptive, as well as immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions that may be amenable to topical anti-inflammatory-immunomodifier therapy. The current challenge for immunotoxinologists is to deconstruct the actions of venom components to target therapeutic modalities for sting treatment.

Evolution and diversification of the cnidarian venom system

“…In contrast, contact with several jellyfish, sea anemone and coral species can cause severe pain, tissue damage and even cardiovascular collapse and death. The venom of the hazardous animals is introduced into the target tissue (epidermis, dermis, vasculature, lymphatic system and probably in some cases subcutaneous or muscular structures) (Figure 1-1) [125] and initiates immediate and delayed immunological and toxicological responses [139][140][141]. Envenomation symptoms are determined by the contents of the venom, the volume of the injection, the health of the patient and the duration of the tentacle-skin contact [125].…”

“…It has been proposed that their pore-forming activity is responsible for toxicity associated with human envenomations [140]. Originally, JFTs were reported to be limited to Cubozoa and Schyphozoa.…”

“…Because certain cnidarians serve pivotal ecological roles (e.g., reefbuilding corals) and are important model organisms in the field of evolutionary developmental biology (sea anemones and hydroids), genomic and transcriptomic data for several cnidarian species are rapidly accumulating in recent times [158][159][160][161]. Moreover, certain cnidarian animals, such as box jellyfishes (Cubozoa), produce some of the world's most lethal venoms [140]. In this study, we…”

“…Envenomation syndromes induced by cnidarian animals represent a therapeutic challenge especially to bathers, swimmers and surfers. Envenomation symptoms are painful hemorrhagic skin lesions, systemic reactions (e.g., direct effects on muscle and nerve tissue), long-term immunological responses, and occasionally fatalities due to Chironex fleckeri cardiovascular and pore-forming toxins [3,125,140,215].…”

“…The principal technical impediment in cnidarian research is the fact that the venom does not exist in a large discrete gland as an aqueous mixture in milligram quantities but instead is distributed in microscopic individual nematocysts, each containing picogram of protein [3]. Venom analysis at the picogram scale presents challenges as cnidarian venom is a complex mixture of bioactive molecules, some of which are aqueous while others are lipidic [3,140]. As a consequence, a modern proteomics approach based on high-throughput mass spectrometry analysis is ideal [220].…”