title: Effects of Two Sublethal Concentrations of Mercury Chloride on the Morphology and Metallothionein Activity in the Liver of Zebrafish (Danio rerio).
abstract: Mercury (Hg) is a highly hazardous pollutant widely used in industrial, pharmaceutical and agricultural fields. Mercury is found in the environment in several forms, elemental, inorganic (iHg) and organic, all of which are toxic. Considering that the liver is the organ primarily involved in the regulation of metabolic pathways, homeostasis and detoxification we investigated the morphological and ultrastructural effects in Danio rerio liver after 96 h exposure to two low HgCl₂ concentrations (7.7 and 38.5 μg/L). We showed that a short-term exposure to very low concentrations of iHg severely affects liver morphology and ultrastructure. The main effects recorded in this work were: cytoplasm vacuolization, decrease in both lipid droplets and glycogen granules, increase in number of mitochondria, increase of rough endoplasmic reticulum and pyknotic nuclei. Pathological alterations observed were dose dependent. Trough immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and real-time PCR analysis, the induction of metallothionein (MT) under stressor conditions was also evaluated. Some of observed alterations could be considered as a general response of tissue to heavy metals, whereas others (such as increased number of mitochondria and increase of RER) may be considered as an adaptive response to mercury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. rachele.macirella@unical.it.
authors.forename: Rachele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Macirella
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. antonello.guardia@unical.it.
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guardia
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. danielapellegrino@unical.it.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. ilaria.bernabo@unical.it.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bernabò
authors.affiliation: Uni Research Environment, Uni Research, Bergen 5006, Norway. valentina.tronci@uni.no.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tronci
authors.affiliation: Uni Research Environment, Uni Research, Bergen 5006, Norway. smoltbrain@me.com.|Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen High Technology Center, Bergen 5020, Norway. smoltbrain@me.com.
authors.forename: Lars O E
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Ebbesson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. settimio.sesti@unical.it.
authors.forename: Settimio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sesti
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. sandro.tripepi@unical.it.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tripepi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 4/B, Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy. elvira.brunelli@unical.it.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D059865:Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008627:Mercuric Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D008627:Mercuric Chloride; D006003:Glycogen; D008668:Metallothionein
keywords: acute effects; confocal microscopy; histology; in situ hybridization; inorganic mercury; liver; metallothionein; ultrastructure