title: Genotoxic effects in fish induced by pharmacological agents present in the sewage of some Italian water-treatment plants.
abstract: The presence of pharmaceutical substances in the municipal effluents is currently considered the principal source of bio-active molecule emissions into aquatic environments. This study analyzes the genotoxic damage caused by gemfibrozil and atorvastatin, two regulators of the hematic level of lipids, and sildenafil citrate, a vasodilator, on the teleost Danio rerio. The genotoxicity of these three compounds was evaluated using the comet assay, diffusion assay, and RAPD-PCR. The alkaline version (pH 12.1) of the comet assay was used for the erythrocytes of the zebrafish to evaluate the presence of single strand DNA breaks. Furthermore, the diffusion assay was used to estimate the number of apoptotic cells. The fish were treated with the three pharmacological agents at the average concentrations previously found at some Italian treatment plants and were then sacrificed from 5 to 35 days after exposure. The data of the comet assay showed a statistically significant loss of DNA integrity after 5 days of exposure to atorvastatin and after one week of exposure to gemfibrozil. This damage was, however, repaired after 14 days. Sildenafil citrate produced, instead, a statistically significant loss of DNA integrity at the concentrations found only after 35 days of exposure. The genotoxicity at the molecular level was tested by RAPD-PCR. The results from this investigation are in agreement with those from two other tests, confirming the efficacy of the use of the three experimental approaches for the complete evaluation of genotoxic damage.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, via Vivaldi 43, Caserta, Italy. lucia.rocco@unina2.it
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Frenzilli
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Aristea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Archimandritis
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peluso
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stingo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D000069059:Atorvastatin; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D015248:Gemfibrozil / Q000633:toxicity; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000633:toxicity; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D007558:Italy; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000633:toxicity; D011687:Purines / Q000633:toxicity; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000633:toxicity; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D013450:Sulfones / Q000633:toxicity; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D009153:Mutagens; D010879:Piperazines; D011687:Purines; D011758:Pyrroles; D012722:Sewage; D013450:Sulfones; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000069059:Atorvastatin; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D015248:Gemfibrozil