Genotoxic Effects of Aluminum on the Neotropical Fish Prochilodus lineatus

Abstract

Applying an integrated approach using the Comet, micronucleus (MN), and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assays, occurrence of erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (ENAs) and the liver activity of antioxidants enzymes (catalase and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)) was carried out to evaluate the effects of acute (6, 24, and 96 h) and subchronic (15 days) exposures to aluminum on fish Prochilodus lineatus. The Comet assay showed that fish erythrocytes exhibited significantly higher DNA damage after 6 and 96 h of Al exposure. MN frequencies were very low and did not increase significantly after Al exposures, while ENAs frequency increased significantly after all exposure periods. RAPD profiles obtained with DNA from fish fins collected before the toxicity tests were compared to the profiles with DNA from gills and liver of the same fish sampled after Al exposures. Alterations in RAPD profiles, including appearance and disappearance of bands, after 6 h, 24 h, and 15 days of Al exposure were detected. Fish exposed to Al for 6 and 24 h also showed significant increases in GST and catalase activities. These results indicated that Al exposure was genotoxic to P. lineatus, inducing DNA damage in peripheral erythrocytes. The induction of antioxidant enzymes might be an indication that Al causes oxidative damage to DNA, while the very low frequency of MN suggests that Al does not produce clastogenic or aneugenic effects. Genotoxic effects after 15 days of Al exposure was revealed only by RAPD, showing that this assay represents a sensitive method to detect genotoxic damage, occasionally not detected by other genotoxic tests used in toxicological genetics studies.