title: Perturbations in ROS-related processes of the fish Gambusia holbrooki after acute and chronic exposures to the metals copper and cadmium.
abstract: Metallic contamination is a widespread phenomena, particularly in areas impacted by human activities, and has become a relevant environmental concern. However, the toxicity of metals on fish requires full characterization in terms of short- and long-term effects. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the acute and chronic oxidative stress response in liver and gills of Gambusia holbrooki exposed to copper and cadmium. To assess the effects of these two metals, we adopted a strategy of analyzing the pollution effects caused by salts of the two metallic elements, and we quantified the oxidative stress biomarkers catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferases, and lipid peroxidation after exposure (4 and 28 days) to ecologically relevant concentrations, thus simulating actual conditions of exposure in the wild. Our results showed that copper elicited strong effects in all tested biomarkers for both acute and chronic challenges. Cadmium caused a similar response and was shown to cause significant changes particularly in catalase and glutathione-S-transferases activities. These findings evidence that ecologically relevant concentrations of common anthropogenic contaminants are causative agents of serious imbalances (namely oxidative stress) that are likely to trigger life-threatening events.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal, nunes.b@ua.pt.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caldeira
authors.forename: Joana Luísa
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Alberto Teodorico
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Correia
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity*; D003532:Cyprinodontiformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005880:Gills / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D011174:Portugal; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D002374:Catalase; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase