title: Digestive enzymatic patterns as possible biomarkers of endocrine disruption in the red mullet (Mullus barbatus): A preliminary investigation.
abstract: During two seasonal trawl surveys (April and October, 2012), red mullet specimens were caught from two sites of the northern Sicilian coast (Western Mediterranean), characterized by different degrees of pollution, to assess whether their digestive enzymes could be cost-effective diagnostic tools for endocrine disruption. Pepsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidases A and B, amylase and lipase were measured in the digestive tract of each fish. During both samplings, significant differences in the digestive enzymatic patterns of fish collected from the two sites were found. In April, pepsin and lipase contents were significantly lower in fish from the most impacted site than in those from the reference site. In October, the enzymatic patterns showed trends different from spring, with controversial results for carboxypeptidases A and B and amylase. Pepsin and lipase patterns suggest a detrimental effect played by organic pollutants and the use of these enzymes as possible biomarkers of exposure to endocrine disruptors.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC), National Research Council (CNR), Messina, Italy. Electronic address: gabriella.caruso@iamc.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.affiliation: Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC), National Research Council (CNR), Messina, Italy. Electronic address: dott.francescadepasquale@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Pasquale
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "Adriano Buzzati-Traverso", National Research Council (CNR), Napoli, Italy; Interuniversity Consortium of Structural and Systems Biology, Roma, Italy. Electronic address: mita@igb.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Damiano Gustavo
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Mita
authors.affiliation: Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC), National Research Council (CNR), Messina, Italy. Electronic address: valeria.micale@iamc.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Micale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004064:Digestive System / Q000201:enzymology*; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D005399:Fishes; D010473:Perciformes; D017747:Seafood; D012621:Seasons; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Digestive enzymes; Endocrine disruptors; Indicators; Northern Sicilian coast; Red mullet