title: Immunotoxicological effects of inorganic arsenic on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.).
abstract: Arsenic (As) has been associated with multitude of animal and human health problems; however, its impact on host immune system has not been extensively investigated. In fish, there are very few works on the potential risks or problems associated to the presence of arsenic. In the present study we have evaluated the effects of exposure (30 days) to sub-lethal concentrations of arsenic (5 μM As₂O₃) in the teleost fish gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), with special emphasis in the innate immune response. The arsenic concentration was determined using atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) in liver and muscle of exposed fish showing As accumulation in the liver after 30 days of exposure. The hepatosomatic index was increased at significant extent after 10 days but returned to control values after 30 days of exposure. Histological alterations in the liver were observed including hypertrophy, vacuolization and cell-death processes. Focusing on the immunological response, the humoral immune parameters (seric IgM, complement and peroxidase activities) were no affected to a statistically significant extent. Regarding the cellular innate parameters, head-kidney leucocyte peroxidase, respiratory burst and phagocytic activities were significantly increased after 10 days of exposition compared to the control fish. Overall, As-exposure in the seabream affects the immune system. How this might interfere with fish biology, aquaculture management or human consumers warrants further investigations. This paper describes, for the first time, the immunotoxicological effects of arsenic exposure in the gilthead seabream, which is a species with the largest production in Mediterranean aquaculture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Guardiola
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gónzalez-Párraga
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuesta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meseguer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martínez-Sánchez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez-Sirvent
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Esteban
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D001151:Arsenic / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006652:Histological Techniques; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000187:drug effects*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000378:metabolism*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D009195:Peroxidase; D001151:Arsenic