Lagos N
Laboratorio Bioquímica de Membrana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Biol Res. 1998;31(4):375-86.
Ecological and health problems posed by microalgal blooms (red tides) occurring in the Southern part of Chile are reviewed. Out of the six human illnesses provoked by microalgal toxins, paralytic shellfish poisoning is the most important, because of its high mortality rate and the high levels of phycotoxins found in contaminated molluscs. Saxitoxin and its analogues bind to a receptor in the voltage-gated sodium channel of neural membranes. The most important toxin-producer microalgae are Alexandrium catenella and Dinophysis acuta. Phycotoxins become concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish, like Mytilus chilensis. Highly sensitive methods available for detection of microalgal toxins are analyzed.
本文综述了智利南部发生的微藻大量繁殖（赤潮）所带来的生态和健康问题。在由微藻毒素引发的六种人类疾病中，麻痹性贝类中毒最为严重，因其死亡率高，且在受污染的贝类中发现了高含量的藻毒素。石房蛤毒素及其类似物与神经细胞膜电压门控钠通道中的一种受体结合。最重要的产毒素微藻是链状亚历山大藻和尖刺菱形藻。藻毒素会通过滤食性贝类（如智利贻贝）进行富集。文中分析了可用于检测微藻毒素的高灵敏度方法。
