Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Parablennius sanguinolentus and related biomarkers of exposure.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Parablennius sanguinolentus and related biomarkers of exposure. Giuseppina Camiolo1, Fabrizio Puglisi1, Roberta Pecoraro1*, Giusi D'Amante1, Angeliki Droutsa2, Antonio Salvaggio3, Margherita Ferrante4, Maria V. Brundo1, Daniele Tibullo1 and Francesco Tiralongo5 1 University of Catania (Italy), Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Italy 2 Agricultural University of Athens, Greece 3 Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute Sicily “A.Mirri”, Italy 4 University of Catania, Department “G.F. Ingrassia”, Italy 5 University of Tuscia, Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Italy In the last years, water contamination has been evaluated using fishes as bioindicators. In environmental biomonitoring the main approach to assess marine ecosystem status, is the analysis of pollutants concentration in fish tissues and the utilization of exposure biomarkers. The aim of the present study, is to analyze the level of contaminants, such as Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Arsenic (As) and the expression of their exposure biomarkers, on gills and muscle tissues of Parablennius sanguinolentus, which has been recognized as a useful bioindicator of environmental pollution. In particular, 30 samples of P. sanguinolentus were collected from the east coasts of Sicily and analyzed by histological examination. Biomarkers of metal exposure, such as metallothioneins (MTs) of low molecular weight and Heat Shock Proteins 70 (HSP70), were detected using Western Blotting assay and immunoistochemical techniques. Moreover, Inductively coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis has been performed in order to quantify metal concentration. Gill and muscle epithelium sections, showed a strong HSPs70 immunopositivity. A clear positive response to MTs has been observed only in gill chloride cells. Moreover, the positivity to MTs and HSPs70, was confirmed by Western Blotting analysis. ICP-MS analysis showed an increase of the mean concentrations of As (14,103mg/Kg), Pb (0,145mg/Kg), Hg (0,035mg/Kg) and Cd (0,014mg/Kg). Histological examination showed no morpho-functional alterations on gills and muscle tissues. The detected concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg are in accordance to the values established by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, that sets maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs. However, Arsenic levels are significantly higher than those reported in literature. For Arsenic no maximum concentration is yet established by European Union. The diet is the main source of human exposure to Arsenic and therefore is extremely important to focus on wider studies based on heavy metals pollution and Arsenic in particular. Keywords: heavy metals, metallothioneins, HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins, western blot, Immunohistochemistry, ICP-MS Conference: XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Physiology, Behavior and Toxicology Citation: Camiolo G, Puglisi F, Pecoraro R, D'Amante G, Droutsa A, Salvaggio A, Ferrante M, Brundo MV, Tibullo D and Tiralongo F (2015). Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Parablennius sanguinolentus and related biomarkers of exposure. . Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XV European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2015.03.00140 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Nov 2015; Published Online: 27 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Roberta Pecoraro, University of Catania (Italy), Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Catania, I-95124, Italy, pecoraro_roberta@libero.it Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Giuseppina Camiolo Fabrizio Puglisi Roberta Pecoraro Giusi D'Amante Angeliki Droutsa Antonio Salvaggio Margherita Ferrante Maria V Brundo Daniele Tibullo Francesco Tiralongo Google Giuseppina Camiolo Fabrizio Puglisi Roberta Pecoraro Giusi D'Amante Angeliki Droutsa Antonio Salvaggio Margherita Ferrante Maria V Brundo Daniele Tibullo Francesco Tiralongo Google Scholar Giuseppina Camiolo Fabrizio Puglisi Roberta Pecoraro Giusi D'Amante Angeliki Droutsa Antonio Salvaggio Margherita Ferrante Maria V Brundo Daniele Tibullo Francesco Tiralongo PubMed Giuseppina Camiolo Fabrizio Puglisi Roberta Pecoraro Giusi D'Amante Angeliki Droutsa Antonio Salvaggio Margherita Ferrante Maria V Brundo Daniele Tibullo Francesco Tiralongo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.