VARIATIONS OF ATP CONTENT IN V79 CELLS TREATED WITH CRUDE TOXINS OF Aequorea aequorea (CNIDARIA: HYDROZOA) AND Rhizostoma pulmo (CNIDARIA: SCYPHOZOA). A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Abstract

Cnidarian toxins are stored mostly in small capsules (nematocysts) located in tentacles and elsewhere in the body; they are important for the ecology of aquatic environments and also for their impact on some human activities and health, in particular where species lethal for humans live. Though studies about toxic properties of Cnidaria started in the early twentieth century, leading to the formulation of anaphylaxis, an input to the researches on toxic Mediterranean species was given, only during the late '70s, with the occurrence of jellyfish blooms. [...]