title: Cadmium effects on the retina of adult Danio rerio.
abstract: The aim of this work is to describe the effects of cadmium pollution on the vision of adult zebrafish, Danio rerio. Retinal morpho-cytological alterations were investigated by light and electron microscopy, while the functionality of cadmium-exposed retinae was assessed by re-illumination behavioral tests with white or colored light. Our results demonstrate that cadmium toxicity causes significant degeneration and loss of organization at both macro and microscopic levels. These alterations impair functional responses particularly through an increase in light sensitivity. Metallothioneins were not seen to be up-regulated, while the recovery of visual acuity is due to a regenerative process by Müller cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: bice.avallone@unina.it.
authors.forename: Bice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Avallone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crispino
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Raimondo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerciello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy; Department of Biophysics, GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Palma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simoniello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Panzuto
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maria Motta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Cadmium; Metallothionein; Retina; TEM; Toxicity