title: Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical investigation on the gills of the teleost, Thalassoma pavo L., exposed to cadmium.
abstract: An investigation was conducted to determine the effects of the heavy metal, cadmium (Cd), on the gills of the teleost fish, Thalassoma pavo Linnaeus, 1758. The fishes were exposed to several sublethal concentrations of cadmium (10, 40, 60 and 120 μM (mg/L)) for a period of 48, 96 and 192 h. The value of the LC50 after 96 h of cadmium exposure, determined using the System of Finney, was equal to 128.3 μM. The gills of the fishes were examined by light and electron microscopy. Toxic, apoptotic and cadmium effects were analyzed using some neuropeptides, metallothioneins (MT), caspase 3, PCNA and calmodulin, as bioindicators, respectively. The results showed that the alterations in the gills were proportional to the exposure periods and concentrations of the metal, which were found to be both dose and time dependent. The biological responses in the gills of the tested animals are discussed in relation to results obtained by analysis of the biomarkers. These data may be used for the planning of a model to determine biological risk in the marine environment and may be particularly useful to investigate organisms exposed to cadmium.
authors.affiliation: Abele Saita Electron Microscopy Laboratories, Department of Ecology, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Rende (Cosenza), Italy.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunelli
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauceri
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maisano
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bernabò
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giannetto
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Domenico
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Corapi
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tripepi
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fasulo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000032:analysis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004848:Epithelium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005880:Gills / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000032:analysis; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000032:analysis; D010473:Perciformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002147:Calmodulin; D009479:Neuropeptides; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein; D053148:Caspase 3