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Org. Biomol. Chem., 2008, 6, 2058 - 2060, DOI: 10.1039/b803107j

Complanine, an inflammation-inducing substance isolated from the marine fireworm Eurythoe complanata

Kazuhiko Nakamura, Yu Tachikawa, Makoto Kitamura, Osamu Ohno, Masami Suganuma and Daisuke Uemura

The marine fireworm, Eurythoe complanata, is known as a dangerous animal for humans because it induces skin inflammation through its small setae. Here, the inflammation-inducing substance was successfully isolated from the whole body using a methanolic extraction, and the inflammatory activity was determined using a bioassay. The structure was spectroscopically revealed to be a trimethylammonium with an unsaturated carbon chain and was named complanine. Complanine enhanced PKC activity in combination with TPA in vitro. This may explain the molecular mechanism behind its inflammation-inducing activity.

Graphical abstract image for this article (ID: b803107j)