PARENT SESSION

2C - Biomarkers
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Tuesday, 29 April 2003
Chair: Hansen, P.D.¹, ¹
Co-chair: Vindimian, E.², ²

(TUP/101) Laboratory study on Enzymatic activities in the European eel (Valencia, Spain), exposed to lindane.

Sancho, Encarna¹, Villarroel, M Jose², Cerón, Jose J³, Ferrando, M Dolores², Andreu-Moliner, Enrique¹, ¹ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain² Universidad de Valencia, Burjasot, Valencia, Spain³ Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Murcia, Spain

ABSTRACT- Animals have developed a wide range of basic solutions to cope with different problems, both organismal and environmental, with which they are faced. From a purely physiological standpoint pesticides can be considered as another extremely interesting environmental factor to which a fish will physiologically respond. Lethal effects are rare in natural enviroments because organisms are exposed to low, usually sublethal concentrations. However, the presence of these concentrations in the aquatic environment, can alter some biochemical parameters in the animals. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was obtained from a fish farm in Valencia, where water comes from an artesian well. Trace of organochlorined pesticides as lindane were detected in water routine chemical analyses. Eels contain large amounts of fat, so that pesticides will accumulate in eel tissues more than in other fish species. The effects of lindane (0.1 ppm) in several organs of the eel were evaluated in order to put in evidence possible enzymatic effects. Creatine-kinase (CK), Lactate-dehidrogenase (LDH), Aspartate-Amino-transferase (AST) and Acetyl-Cholinesterase (AChE) activities were studied in skeletal muscle, liver and brain. The results obtained show disturbances in the activity of the selected enzymes. In muscle tissue, an increase on both CK and AChE (p<0.001, p<0.05; respectively) was found, and a decrease (p<0.01) on AST activities was noted. Similarly, in brain tissue an increase in CK activity, together with a decrease of AST, was also determined (p<0.05). In liver tissue, by contrast, only CK activity showed disturbance (p<0.05). Results are discussed in terms of lindane effects on several metabolic pathways where these enzymes are possible keystones.

Key words: lindane, European eel, enzyme, disturbance