Benzodiazepine Interference with Fertility and Embryo Development: A Preliminary Survey in the Sea Urchin .

Psychotropic drugs and benzodiazepines are nowadays among the primary substances of abuse. This results in a large and constant release into aquatic environments where they have potentially harmful effects on non-target organisms and, eventually, human health. In the last decades, evidence has been collected on the possible interference of benzodiazepines with reproductive processes, but data are few and incomplete.

Behavioral alterations and gills damage in Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to an environmental concentration of delorazepam.

Psychoactive compounds, and benzodiazepines (BZPs) in particular, represent an important class of emerging pollutants due to their large (ab)use and high resistance to degradation. Nowadays it is known that sewage treatment does not completely eliminate these substances and, therefore, BZPs and their metabolites reach concern levels in most aquatic environments all over Europe, ranging from µg/L to ng/L. In this study, we investigated the effects of delorazepam on Mytilus galloprovincialis, a model organism in toxicity testing and a key species in coastal marine ecosystems.

Endocrine disrupting effects of copper and cadmium in the oocytes of the Antarctic Emerald rockcod Trematomus bernacchii.

Antarctica has long been considered a continent free from anthropic interference. Unfortunately, recent evidence indicate that metal contamination has gone so far and that its effects are still unknown. For this reason, in the present work, the potential endocrine disrupting effect of two highly polluting metals, copper and cadmium, were examined in the Antarctic teleost Trematomus bernacchii.

Effects of four food dyes on development of three model species, Cucumis sativus, Artemia salina and Danio rerio: Assessment of potential risk for the environment.

Food dyes, or color additives, are chemicals added to industrial food products and in domestic cooking to improve the perceived flavor and attractiveness. Of natural and synthetic origin, their safety has been long discussed, and concern for human safety is now clearly manifested by warnings added on products labels. Limited attention, however, has been dedicated to the effects of these compounds on aquatic flora and fauna.

Long term exposure to cadmium: Pathological effects on kidney tubules cells in Sparus aurata juveniles.

The effects of an exposure to cadmium chloride 0.47μM for 150days were studied in kidneys of juveniles Sparus aurata by a multidisciplinary approach so to correlate uptake and detoxification potential to changes in brush border and glycocalyx sugar composition. Results demonstrated that cadmium concentration in kidney significantly increased from day 30 reaching a plateau on day 120 while metallothioneins reached a peak on day 90 and by day 120 were already decreasing to control values.

Structural and functional changes in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) skeletal muscle after cadmium exposure.

This report describes the alterations induced by an environmentally realistic concentration of cadmium in skeletal muscle fibre organization, composition, and function in the teleost zebrafish. Results demonstrate that the ion induces a significant quantitative and qualitative deterioration, disrupting sarcomeric pattern and altering glycoprotein composition. These events, together with a mitochondrial damage, result in a significant reduction in swimming performance.

Cadmium effects on the retina of adult Danio rerio.

The aim of this work is to describe the effects of cadmium pollution on the vision of adult zebrafish, Danio rerio. Retinal morpho-cytological alterations were investigated by light and electron microscopy, while the functionality of cadmium-exposed retinae was assessed by re-illumination behavioral tests with white or colored light. Our results demonstrate that cadmium toxicity causes significant degeneration and loss of organization at both macro and microscopic levels.