title: Neurotoxicological effects on marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis caged at petrochemical contaminated areas (eastern Sicily, Italy): ¹H NMR and immunohistochemical assays.
abstract: The neurotoxicological potential of environmental pollution, mainly related to petrochemical activities, was investigated in marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Bivalve mollusks, particularly mussels, are widely used as sentinel organisms in biomonitoring studies for assessing the impact of anthropogenic contaminants. The gills, mainly involved in nutrient uptake, digestion, gas exchange and neuronal signaling, are the first organ to be affected by pollutants present in the external environment, and therefore were selected as the target organ for this study. Mussels from an aquaculture farm were caged at a highly polluted petrochemical area and a reference site along the Augusta coastline (eastern Sicily, Italy) for one month. A battery of biomarkers indicative of neuronal perturbations was applied on gills in order to investigate on the serotonergic (i.e. serotonin, 5-HT, and its receptor, 5-HT3R), cholinergic (i.e. acetylcholine, acetylcholinesterase, AChE, and choline acetyltransferase, ChAT), and dopaminergic systems (i.e. tyrosine and tyrosine hydroxylase, TH). Overall, impairment in the normal ciliary motility was found in mussels caged at the polluted site. Alterations in serotoninergic and cholinergic systems were revealed, with enhancement of dopaminergic neurotransmission resulting in a cilio-inhibitory effect. However, the over-expression in 5-HT3R and ChAT at cellular level may indicate an adaptive response of mussels to recover a regular physiological activity in gills. To our knowledge, this is the first study that uses (1)H NMR and immunohistochemical assays. Their concurrent use demonstrated to be sensitive and effective for assessing environmental influences on the health status of aquatic organisms, and thus suitable to be applied in ecotoxicological studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy. Electronic address: mmaisano@unime.it.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maisano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giannetto
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parrino
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauceri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fasulo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D055432:Metabolomics; D049878:Mytilus / Q000187:drug effects*; D059326:Serotonergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D012802:Sicily; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: (1)H NMR metabolomics; Caged mussels; Cholinergic system; Dopaminergic system; Environmental pollution; Gills; Immunohistochemistry; Serotoninergic system