A rapid microplate fluorescence method to detect yessotoxins based on their capacity to activate phosphodiesterases

This paper describes an easy and fast assay with enough sensitivity to detect yessotoxin (YTX) in shellfish samples. YTX decreases intracellular adenosine 3', 5-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels by increasing the activity of phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Looking for new methods to detect YTXs, we developed a technique based on this effect. We use the fluorescent derivative of cAMP, anthranyloyl-cAMP, whose fluorescence decreases in time by hydrolysis effect of PDEs. The fluorescence fall is quantified in a plate reader. PDEs induce an anthranyloyl-cAMP hydrolysis rate that is increased in the presence of YTX. This effect is dose dependent, and the representation of YTX concentration versus rate of hydrolysis follows a lineal regression. The measurable range of YTX in this assay is 0.1 to 10 muM, while by mouse bioassay, the official method to detect YTXs, the detection limit is 2 muM. We determined by this method the concentration of YTX from alcoholic extracts whose concentrations were first determined by high performance liquid chromatography and the variation of concentration was from 5.26 muM by fluorescence to 6 muM by high performance liquid chromatography and from 3.16 by fluorescence to 3 muM by HPLC. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.