title: Physiological differences in the crab Ucides cordatus from two populations inhabiting mangroves with different levels of cadmium contamination.
abstract: Crustaceans found in metal-contaminated regions are able to survive, and the authors investigated the physiological mechanisms involved by comparing populations from contaminated and noncontaminated areas. The objective of the present study was to measure the cellular transport of a nonessential metal (cadmium [Cd]) in gills and hepatopancreas of Ucides cordatus, together with cell membrane fluidity, metallothionein levels, and lipid peroxidation. The 2 populations compared were from a polluted and a nonpolluted mangrove area of São Paulo State, Brazil. The authors found, for the first time, larger Cd transport in gills and hepatopancreatic cells from crabs living in polluted mangrove areas. The cells also had lower plasma membrane fluidity, increased lipid peroxidation and less metallothionein compared to those from nonpolluted regions. The authors also found larger amounts of Cd in intracellular organelles of gills, but not in the hepatopancreas, from crabs in polluted regions. Therefore, in polluted areas, these animals showed higher Cd transport and lower plasma membrane fluidity and storage of Cd intracellularly in gill cells, whereas hepatopancreatic cells used metallothionein as their main line of defense. The findings suggest that crabs from polluted areas can accumulate Cd more easily than crabs from nonpolluted areas, probably because of an impairment of the regulatory mechanisms of cell membrane transport. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:361-371. © 2016 SETAC.
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Priscila
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hector A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Vitorino
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Paulista State University, São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo A A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Paulista State University, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alaor A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Márcio R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Custódio
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Zanotto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003386:Brachyura / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005880:Gills / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D043143:Hepatopancreas / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008560:Membrane Fluidity / Q000187:drug effects; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein
keywords: Cadmium; Cadmium transport; Gill; Hepatopancreas; Membrane fluidity