Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

High Throughput, Real-time, Dual-readout Testing of Intracellular Antimicrobial Activity and Eukaryotic Cell Cytotoxicity
Published on: November 16, 2016
Microcystin-LR and okadaic acid-induced cellular effects: a dualistic response
1School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. mgehringer@unsw.edu.au
Abstract:
Microcystins, potent heptapeptide hepatotoxins produced by certain bloom-forming cyanobacteria, are strong protein phosphatase inhibitors. They covalently bind the serine/threonine protein phosphatases 1 and 2A (PP1 and PP2A), thereby influencing regulation of cellular protein phosphorylation. The paralytic shellfish poison, okadaic acid, is also a potent inhibitor of these PPs. Inhibition of PP1 and PP2A has a dualistic effect on cells exposed to okadaic acid or microcystin-LR, with both apoptosis and increased cellular proliferation being reported. This review summarises the existing data on the molecular effects of microcystin-LR inhibition of PP1 and PP2A both in vivo and in vitro, and where possible, compares this to the action of okadaic acid.
Related Concept Videos
Cellular Injury I: Introduction
Stringent Response in E. coli
Cellular Injury IV: Necrosis
Cellular Injury IlI: Cellular Death
Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy
