The Damaging Effects of Pedunsaponin A on <i>Pomacea canaliculata</i> Hemocytes

• Main Authors: Chunping Yang, Tianxing Lv, Bin Wang, Xiaoyan Qiu, Liya Luo, Min Zhang, Guizhou Yue, Guangwei Qin, Deshan Xie, Huabao Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Toxins
• Subjects: <i>Pomacea canaliculata</i>; Pedunsaponin A; membrane potential; cytoskeleton; apoptosis; cell cycle
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/11/7/390

<i>Pomacea canaliculata</i> hemocytes are the main functional cells in the immune defense system, and hemocyte destruction disrupts the immune response mechanism of <i>P. canaliculata</i>, resulting in abnormal growth, development, reproduction, and even death. Our previous study found that Pedunsaponin A significantly affects <i>P. canaliculata</i> hemocyte structure. This study further investigated the damaging effects of Pedunsaponin A on <i>P. canaliculata</i> hemocytes. The cell mortality rate results showed that the hemocyte mortality was significantly increased after treatment with Pedunsaponin A, and the mortality rate exhibited a significant positive correlation with treatment time and dose. The membrane potential results showed that the cell membranes of <i>P. canaliculata</i> hemocytes exhibited time-dependent membrane depolarization after 40 mg/L Pedunsaponin A treatment. At 36 h, the cell depolarization rate in the Pedunsaponin A treatment group was 41.43%, which was significantly greater than the control group (6.24%). The cytoskeleton results showed that Pedunsaponin A led to disordered and dispersed arrangement of microfilaments and changes in the cytoskeletal structure. The apoptosis and cell cycle results showed that Pedunsaponin A induced apoptosis and influenced the cell cycle to some extent. These results showed that the cell membrane and cytoskeleton of <i>P. canaliculata</i> hemocytes were damaged after treatment with Pedunsaponin A, which led to an increase in cell mortality, dysfunction, cell cycle abnormalities and apoptosis. This study provides a foundation for further identification of the site of Pedunsaponin A activity on hemocytes.