title: Cadmium in vivo exposure alters stress response and endocrine-related genes in the freshwater snail Physa acuta. New biomarker genes in a new model organism.
abstract: The freshwater snail Physa acuta is a sensitive organism to xenobiotics that is appropriate for toxicity testing. Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal with known toxic effects on several organisms, which include endocrine disruption and activation of the cellular stress responses. There is scarce genomic information on P. acuta; hence, in this work, we identify several genes related to the hormonal system, the stress response and the detoxification system to evaluate the effects of Cd. The transcriptional activity of the endocrine-related genes oestrogen receptor (ER), oestrogen-related receptor (ERR), and retinoid X receptor (RXR), the heat shock proteins genes hsp70 and hsp90 and a metallothionein (MT) gene was analysed in P. acuta exposed to Cd. In addition, the hsp70 and hsp90 genes were also evaluated after heat shock treatment. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that Cd presence induced a significant increase in the mRNA levels of ER, ERR and RXR, suggesting a putative mode of action that could explain the endocrine disruptor activity of this heavy metal at the molecular level on Gastropoda. Moreover, the hsp70 gene was upregulated after 24-h Cd treatment, but the hsp90 gene expression was not affected. In contrast, the hsp70 and hsp90 genes were strongly upregulated during heat shock response. Finally, the MT gene expression showed a non-significant variability after Cd exposure. In conclusion, this study provides, for the first time, information about the effects of Cd on the endocrine system of Gastropoda at the molecular level and offers new putative biomarker genes that could be useful in ecotoxicological studies, risk assessment and bioremediation.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Biología y Toxicología Ambiental, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: pjdepaz@ccia.uned.es.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martínez-Paz
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Biología y Toxicología Ambiental, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Ecotoxicología, Departamento de Medioambiente, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Ctra. La Coruña km 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Argüello
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Biología y Toxicología Ambiental, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morcillo
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Biología y Toxicología Ambiental, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Senda del Rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martínez-Guitarte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D012908:Snails / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D047488:Retinoid X Receptors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein
keywords: Cadmium; Endocrine-responsive genes; Metallothionein gene; Physa acuta; hsp genes