Toxicity of Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) crude venom on cultured cells

The toxicity of Cnidaria is a subject of high concern owing to its influence on human activities and public health and to the implications in ecological relationships between organisms. In order to simulate as much as possible the natural conditions and the consequences of stinging against injured cells, as well considering that Cnidarian venoms are located not only in nematocysts but also in tissues, the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of crude extracts from nematocyst and surrounding tissues of the sea-anemone Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) were assessed on cultured fibroblasts (V79). The cytotoxicity was remarkable and cell survival was highly reduced at highest tested concentration (150,000 nematocysts/ml); using the Trypan blue dye exclusion test, only 40% of treated cells survived after the first hour of treatment; viable cells were not counted after the second hour. Also the results obtained using the Neutral Red assay showed serious effects (only 31.5% and 12.6% cell survival after one and three hours respectively). Genotoxic effects were not observed at tested doses.