title: Elemental changes in the brain, muscle, and gut cells of the housefly, Musca domestica, exposed to heavy metals.
abstract: The toxic effects of heavy metals on organisms are well established. However, their specific action at the cellular level in different tissues is mostly unknown. We have used the housefly, Musca domestica, as a model organism to study the toxicity of four heavy metals: copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb). These have been fed to larvae at low and high, semi-lethal concentrations, and their accumulation in the head, thorax, and abdomen was subsequently measured in adult flies. In addition, their impact on the cellular concentration of several elements important for cell metabolism-sodium (Na+), magnesium (Mg++), phosphorous (P), sulphur (S), chloride (Cl-) and potassium (K+)-were measured in neural cells, muscle fibers, and midgut epithelial cells. Our study showed that the heavy metals accumulate mainly in the abdomen, in which the concentrations of two of the xenobiotic metals, Cd and Pb, were 213 and 23 times more concentrated, respectively, than in controls. All the heavy metals affected the cellular concentration of light elements in all cell types, but the changes observed were dependent on tissue type and were specific for each heavy metal, and its concentration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cytology and Histology, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, 30-060 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tylko
authors.forename: Zuzanna
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Banach
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Borowska
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niklińska
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pyza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002713:Chlorine / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006793:Houseflies / Q000378:metabolism*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000633:toxicity*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D011188:Potassium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D013455:Sulfur / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010758:Phosphorus; D002713:Chlorine; D013455:Sulfur; D012964:Sodium; D008274:Magnesium; D011188:Potassium