Assessing azithromycin's ecological toll: Unveiling multifaceted impacts on Poecilia reticulata THROUGH biomarker analysis.

This study investigates the impact of environmentally relevant concentrations of azithromycin on Poecilia reticulata, through biomarkers at different levels. To this end, the somatic indexes of P. reticulata were evaluated, and liver and gill samples were collected and analyzed for biochemical and histopathological alterations.

Morphophysiological and Histopathological Effects of Ammonium Sulfate Fertilizer on (Dugès, 1828) Earthworm.

The present study used the adult earthworm as a bioindicator species to look into the possible dangers of ammonium sulfate (AS) fertilizer. Two complementary toxicity tests were conducted to determine the LC50values, growth rate inhibition, morphological alterations, and histopathological texture of worms. The lethality test included four increasing concentrations of AS fertilizer (ranging from 2500 to 7500 mg/kg of dry soil weight (d.

Effects of Dibutylphthalate and Steroid Hormone Mixture on Human Prostate Cells.

Phthalates are a family of aromatic chemical compounds mainly used as plasticizers. Among phthalates, di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) is a low-molecular-weight phthalate used as a component of many cosmetic products, such as nail polish, and other perfumed personal care products. DBP has toxic effects on reproductive health, inducing testicular damage and developmental malformations.

The Adrenal Gland of Squamata (Reptilia): A Comparative Overview.

The adrenal gland is a complex endocrine organ composed of two components: a steroidogenic tissue, which produces steroid hormones, and a chromaffin tissue, which mainly produces norepinephrine and epinephrine. Through evolution, their relationships with each other changed. They begin as isolated chromaffin and steroidogenic cell aggregates, typical of fish, and end with the advanced compact gland, typical of mammals, which consists of an external steroidogenic cortical zone and an internal chromaffin medullary zone.

Cocaine Effects on Reproductive Behavior and Fertility: An Overview.

Cocaine is one of the most widely used drugs that, due to its molecular properties, causes various behavioral alterations, including sexual behavior. In vivo and in vitro studies conducted mainly in mammals have shown various disorders of sexual activity and morpho-functional dysfunctions of the gonads in both sexes. Although the modalities are still unclear, cocaine has been shown to alter the cell cycle, induce apoptosis, and alter sperm motility.

Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Method for Studying the Adrenal Chromaffin Cells.

Transmission electron microscopy and the use of glutaraldehyde-osmium fixation allow to distinguish norepinephrine from epinephrine granules in the adrenochromaffin cells, a difficult distinction with histochemical methods if both types of granules are present in the same cell. Here we describe all the steps necessary to process the adrenochromaffin tissue for the transmission electron microscopy; this protocol is suitable for any kind of adrenal tissue, and personally we used it in mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

Aquatic Pollution and Risks to Biodiversity: The Example of Cocaine Effects on the Ovaries of .

Pollution is one of the main causes of the loss of biodiversity, currently one of the most important environmental problems. Important sources of aquatic pollution are illicit drugs, whose presence in waters is closely related to human consumption; their psychoactive properties and biological activity suggest potential adverse effects on non-target organisms, such as aquatic biota. In this study, we evaluated the effect of an environmentally relevant concentration of cocaine (20 ng L−1), an illicit drug widely found in surface waters, on the ovaries of Anguilla anguilla, a species critically endangered and able to accumulate cocaine in its tissues following chronic exposure.

The mechanism of cytotoxicity of 4-nonylphenol in a human hepatic cell line involves ER-stress, apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

4-Nonylphenol (4-NP) is an emerging environmental pollutant widely diffused in waters and sediments. It mainly derives from the degradation of alkyl phenol ethoxylates, compounds commonly employed as industrial surfactants. 4-NP strongly contaminates foods and waters for human use; thus, it displays a wide range of toxic effects not only for aquatic organisms but also for mammals and humans.

Effects of environmental cocaine concentrations on COX and caspase-3 activity, GRP-78, ALT, CRP and blood glucose levels in the liver and kidney of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Cocaine is one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world, and as a result of incomplete removal by sewage treatment plants it is found in surface waters, where it represents a new potential risk for aquatic organisms. In this study we evaluated the influence of environmental concentrations of cocaine on the liver and the kidney of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The eels were exposed to 20 ng L of cocaine for fifty days, after which, three and ten days after the interruption of cocaine exposure their livers and kidneys were compared to controls.

Adrenal gland response to endocrine disrupting chemicals in fishes, amphibians and reptiles: A comparative overview.

The adrenal gland is an essential component of the body stress response; it is formed by two portions: a steroidogenic and a chromaffin tissue. Despite the anatomy of adrenal gland is different among classes of vertebrates, the hormones produced are almost the same. During stress, these hormones contribute to body homeostasis and maintenance of ion balance.

Changes in the gills of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) after chronic exposure to environmental cocaine concentration.

The recent discovery of illicit drugs in the aquatic environment has raised concerns about the possible effects on the aquatic fauna, because of the pharmacological activity of these substances. Cocaine is an illicit drug widespread in surface waters since it is the third most widely used drug in North America, Western and Central Europe, and the second in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of environmental concentrations of cocaine on the gills of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Effects of environmental cocaine concentrations on the skeletal muscle of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

The presence of illicit drugs in the aquatic environment represents a new potential risk for aquatic organisms, due to their constant exposure to substances with strong pharmacological activity. Currently, little is known about the ecological effects of illicit drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of environmental concentrations of cocaine, an illicit drug widespread in surface waters, on the skeletal muscle of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Histological changes, apoptosis and metallothionein levels in Triturus carnifex (Amphibia, Urodela) exposed to environmental cadmium concentrations.

The aim of this study was to verify if the freshwater safety values established from the European Community (1998) and the Italian Ministry of Health (2001) for cadmium (44.5nM/L in drinking water and 178nM/L in sewage waters) were safe for amphibians, since at these same concentrations cadmium induced endocrine disruption in the newt Triturus carnifex. Adult male specimens of T.

Nonylphenol effects on the HPA axis of the bioindicator vertebrate, Podarcis sicula lizard.

Nonylphenol (NP) is an endocrine disruptor widely distributed in the environment. It accumulates in the lipids of living organisms and enters the human food chain. The main source of human exposure is expected to be food, drinking water and foodstuff contaminated through leaching from packaging or pesticide formulation applications.

Chronic exposure to cadmium disrupts the adrenal gland activity of the newt Triturus carnifex (Amphibia, Urodela).

We intended to verify the safety of the freshwater values established for cadmium by the European Community and the Italian Ministry of Health in drinking water (5 μg/L) and sewage waters (20 μg/L). Therefore, we chronically exposed the newt Triturus carnifex to 5 μg/L and 20 μg/L doses of cadmium, respectively, during 3 and 9 months and verified the effects on the adrenal gland. We evaluated the serum concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone, aldosterone, norepinephrine, and epinephrine.

Endocrine-disrupting effects of nonylphenol in the newt, Triturus carnifex (Amphibia, Urodela).

The aim of our study was to verify whether environmental concentrations of nonylphenol influenced the adrenal gland of Triturus carnifex. Newts were exposed to 19 μg/L nominal concentration of nonylphenol throughout the periods of December-January and March-April, corresponding to different stages of the chromaffin cell functional cycle. The morphological features of the steroidogenic and chromaffin tissues, and the serum levels of ACTH, aldosterone, corticosterone, norepinephrine and epinephrine were evaluated.

The autonomic nervous system and chromaffin tissue: neuroendocrine regulation of catecholamine secretion in non-mammalian vertebrates.

If severe enough, periods of acute stress in animals may be associated with the release of catecholamine hormones (noradrenaline and adrenaline) into the circulation; a response termed the acute humoral adrenergic stress response. The release of catecholamines from the sites of storage, the chromaffin cells, is under neuroendocrine control, the complexity of which appears to increase through phylogeny. In the agnathans, the earliest branching vertebrates, the chromaffin cells which are localized predominantly within the heart, lack neuronal innervation and thus catecholamine secretion in these animals is initiated solely by humoral mechanisms.

Distribution and molecular evolution of the neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its receptors in the lizard Podarcis sicula (Squamata, Lacertidae).

The presence of the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its receptors PAC(1), VPAC(1), and VPAC(2) was studied in the lizard Podarcis sicula gastrointestinal and respiratory tissues. The expression and distribution of this neuropeptide was investigated using RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization techniques. RT-PCR showed that several tissues of this reptile synthesize an mRNA encoding for PACAP.

Localization and role of galanin in the thyroid gland of Podarcis sicula lizard (reptilia, lacertide).

Galanin (GAL) is a 29-amino acid residue neuropeptide, which was initially isolated from porcine intestine extracts and since then, widely found in a variety of vertebrate organs, in correlation with multiple neuro-hormonal actions exerted and so receiving a constantly growing attention. Moreover, although the studies undertaken so far suggest a local intrathyroidal peptidergic regulatory action, the exact role of GAL on thyroid gland remains to be established. The aim of this study was to determine in the lizard, Podarcis sicula, (1) the presence of GAL immunoreactivity in the thyroid gland and (2) the short- and long-term effects of in vivo GAL administration by intraperitoneal injection on thyroid gland physiology.

Chromaffin cells in the amphibian urodele Triturus carnifex show ultrastructural features indicative of a vesicle-mediated mode of cell degranulation.

Recently, suggestive evidence for piecemeal degranulation (PMD), a particulate pattern of cell secretion accomplished by vesicle-mediated extracellular transport of granule-stored material, has been provided by electron microscopy investigations in chromaffin cells of different vertebrate species. In this study, chromaffin tissue from the interrenal gland of the amphibian urodede Triturus carnifex has been investigated by quantitative transmission electron microscopy in search for ultrastructural clues indicative of a vesicle-mediated mode of cell degranulation. Interestingly, a single type of chromaffin cell is recognizable in T.

Human follicle-stimulating hormone modulation of adrenal gland activity in the Italian crested newt, Triturus carnifex (Amphibia, Urodela).

The aim of the present study was to verify if human FSH influences the adrenal gland of the newt, Triturus carnifex. Newts were given intraperitoneal injections of human FSH throughout the periods of February-March, and December-January; periods in which newt FSH levels are normally very low. The effects of human FSH on adrenal gland activity were observed in the morphological features of the steroidogenic and chromaffin adrenal cells, and in the serum levels of aldosterone, corticosterone, norepinephrine and epinephrine.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and their receptors: distribution and involvement in the secretion of Podarcis sicula adrenal gland.

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are regulatory neuropeptides of the hypothalamus-hypophyseal-adrenal axis, acting via the common receptors VPAC(1) and VPAC(2) and the selective PACAP receptor PAC(1). In the adrenal glands of the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, the presence of VIP in chromaffin cells, and the VIP-stimulated release of catecholamine and aldosterone in vivo, was previously shown. To examine the localization of both peptides and receptors and their mRNAs in the adrenal gland of P.

Morphological and functional changes in the thyroid gland of methyl thiophanate-injected lizards, Podarcis sicula.

The thyroid has been shown to be a target organ for environmental chemicals, specifically endocrine-disrupting contaminants. Reptiles are particularly suitable as contaminant biomonitors due to their persistence in a variety of habitats, wide geographic distribution, longevity, and, in many cases, site fidelity. Methyl thiophanate is a systemic broad-spectrum fungicide used to prevent and control plant diseases caused by various fungi.

The effects of the fungicide methyl thiophanate on adrenal gland morphophysiology of the lizard, Podarcis sicula.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a large group of substances able to modulate endocrine-signaling pathways, altering the normal function of the endocrine system. Although the fungicide methyl thiophanate (MT) is not considering a specific reproductive and developmental toxicant, it can induce histopathological damages in rat thyroid and adrenal glands that have a pivotal role in both processes. We investigated the MT effects on adrenal glands of Podarcis sicula lizard, the endemic species of Southern Italy living in open country and in cultivated fields.

Molecular characterization and gene expression of the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the lizard brain.

The pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is considered a pleiotropic neuropeptide in vertebrate physiology. The nucleotide sequence, the expression and the distribution of PACAP were determined in the brain of the lizard Podarcis sicula. RT-PCR showed that the brain of this reptile synthesizes an mRNA coding for PACAP.