Starfish, Asterias amurensis and Asterina pectinifera, as potential sources of Th1 immunity-stimulating adjuvants.

Acrosome reaction is subfamily specific in sea star fertilization.

In the fertilization process of sea stars, sperm is activated to go through the acrosome reaction before cell fusion. We focused on induction of the acrosome reaction as a key process in fertilization. Six species of sea stars were used in this study: Asterias amurensis, Asterias rubens, Asterias forbesi, Aphelasterias japonica, Distolasterias nipon, and Asterina pectinifera. Acrosome reaction ...

Characterization of a novel hatching enzyme purified from starfish Asterina pectinifera

Hatching enzyme is a protease which can degrade the membrane of egg. In this study, a hatching enzyme was purified from starfish (Asterina pectinifera) with 6.34 fold of purification rate, 5.04 % of yield, and 73.87 U/mg of specific activity. The molecular weight of starfish hatching enzyme was 86 kDa, which was reduced to 62 kDa after removal of N-linked oligosaccharides. The optimal pH and te...

The Restoration Technique for Recognition of Asterias Amurensis

Asterias amurensis, also referred to as the Northern Pacific seastar, is so indiscriminate a predator that it deserves to be called pirates of the sea. They usually eat fish and shellfish including abalones and clams. Due to the high fertility rate, Asterias amurensis is one of the main culprits in devastating fishing grounds. Starfish are anywhere in the East Sea and South Sea. In recent years...

Isolation and characteristics of trypsin from pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina pectinifera.

Trypsin was purified from pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina Pectinifera by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and cation-exchange chromatography. Final enzyme preparation was nearly homogeneous in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its molecular weight was estimated as approximately 28000. Optimum pH and temperature of A. pectinifera trypsin for hydro...

Isolation and characteristics of phospholipase A2 from the pyloric ceca of the starfish Asterina pectinifera