title: Heart Alterations after Domoic Acid Administration in Rats.
abstract: Domoic acid (DA) is one of the best known marine toxins, causative of important neurotoxic alterations. DA effects are documented both in wildlife and experimental assays, showing that this toxin causes severe injuries principally in the hippocampal area. In the present study we have addressed the long-term toxicological effects (30 days) of DA intraperitoneal administration in rats. Different histological techniques were employed in order to study DA toxicity in heart, an organ which has not been thoroughly studied after DA intoxication to date. The presence of DA was detected by immunohistochemical assays, and cellular alterations were observed both by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Although histological staining methods did not provide any observable tissue damage, transmission electron microscopy showed several injuries: a moderate lysis of myofibrils and loss of mitochondrial conformation. This is the first time the association between heart damage and the presence of the toxin has been observed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. andres.crespo.vieira@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andres C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. m.cifuentes@usc.es.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cifuentes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. roberto.bermudez@usc.es.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bermúdez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. sara.fernandez.ferreiro@usc.es.
authors.forename: Sara F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ferreiro
authors.affiliation: Rede de Infraestruturas de Apoio á Investigación e ao Desenvolvemento Tecnolóxico (RIADT) Lugo, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. a.roman@usc.es.
authors.forename: Albina Román
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo 27002, Spain. luis.botana@usc.es.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Botana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; C012301:domoic acid; D007608:Kainic Acid
keywords: cardiotoxicity; domoic acid; electron microscopy; immunohistochemistry; phycotoxin