Evaluation of the toxicity of chemical compounds using digestive acini of the bivalve mollusc Pecten maximus L. maintained alive in vitro.
The digestive gland of bivalve molluscs is a model of choice for experiments in ecotoxicology because of its implication in detoxification processes moreover of its classical functions in digestive phenomena. All physiological deteriorations of this organ, related or not to pollution, can lead to animal death. The recent development of a method allowing digestive acini of Pecten maximus to be maintained alive in vitro for 96 h opens up new research prospects in ecotoxicology. The action of contaminants considered to be cytotoxic or genotoxic in the literature were tested on this model. The results show the high cytotoxicity of ethylmethane sulphonate 80 and 5 mM after 2 h of contact with acini. Other compounds such as 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide 0.1 mM, cadmium chloride 10(-5) M and atrazine 10(-4) M, which were weakly toxic after 2 h, became highly toxic after 48 h of contact. Compounds such as 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide 1 mM, which were not cytotoxic after 2 h, proved to be the most genotoxic of all those tested. Others, such as MMS 1 mM, cadmium chloride 10(-4) and 10(-5) M, and atrazine 10(-5) M, showed an unconfirmed tendency to be genotoxic. The results obtained with this 'acinus' model seem more readily transposable to the whole organism than those obtained with 'isolated cell' models, in that acini can be considered as digestive glands 'in miniature'.
Unité de Culture Cellulaire, Institut de Synergie des Sciences et de la Santé, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29609, Brest, France.
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D015112:4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001280:Atrazine / Q000633:toxicity; D019256:Cadmium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity; D004063:Digestion; D005020:Ethyl Methanesulfonate / Q000633:toxicity; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D008974:Mollusca / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D015112:4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide; D005020:Ethyl Methanesulfonate; D019256:Cadmium Chloride; D001280:Atrazine