title: Cytotoxicity and alterations at transcriptional level caused by metals on fish erythrocytes in vitro.
abstract: The in vitro use of fish erythrocytes to test the toxicity of aquatic pollutants could be a valuable alternative to fish bioassays but has received little attention. In this study, erythrocytes from marine gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) specimens were exposed for 24 h to Cd, Hg, Pb and As and the resulting cytotoxicity was evaluated. Exposure to metals produced a dose-dependent reduction in the viability, and mercury showed the highest toxicity followed by MeHg, Cd, As and Pb. Moreover, fish erythrocytes incubated with each one of the metals exhibited alteration in gene expression profile of metallothionein, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxiredoxin, glutathione reductase, heat shock proteins 70 and 90, Bcl2-associated X protein and calpain1 indicating cellular protection, stress and apoptosis death as well as oxidative stress. This study points to the benefits for evaluating the toxicological mechanisms of marine pollution using fish erythrocytes in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Fish Innate Immune System Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morcillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Fish Innate Immune System Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meseguer
authors.affiliation: Fish Innate Immune System Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: M Ángeles
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.affiliation: Fish Innate Immune System Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain. alcuesta@um.es.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0906-7995
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuesta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001151:Arsenic / Q000494:pharmacology; D001492:Bass / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D008628:Mercury; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Cell death; Erythrocytes; Flow cytometry; Metals; Oxidative stress; Teleost fish