title: Cell culture of bivalves: tool for the study of the effects of environmental stressors.
abstract: Spontaneous beating cells can be isolated from the heart of the oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and cultured for more than two months. They form adherent contractile networks in culture conditions. They show muscarinic and beta-adrenergic reactivity thus showing that they are functional cardio-myocytes: Acetylcholine induced a dose dependent decrease in spontaneous beating rate via an increase in potassium conductance, this effect being blocked by atropine. Epinephrine induced a dramatic increase in calcium conductance which was blocked by high concentrations of propranolol but not by sotalol and reversed by verapamil. Tributyltin and cadmium induced a dose and time dependent decrease mainly in inward ionic conductances, leading to a decrease or even a total suppression of the beating rate. Present study indicates that this model could be used as a sensitive test to study the effects of some marine pollutants at the cellular level in molluscs.
authors.affiliation: Facteurs Environmentaux et Fonction Musculaire, Institut des Synergies des Sciences et de la Santé, Brest, France. jpennec@univ-brest.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pennec
authors.forename: Morgane
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallet
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gioux
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dorange
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000494:pharmacology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002455:Cell Division; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology*; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D013696:Temperature; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; C011559:tributyltin; D004837:Epinephrine