Publications by authors named "Rodrigo Da Cuna"

Melano-macrophage centers (MMCs) are nodular clusters of pigmented macrophages, implicated in homeostasis and destruction and recycling of endogenous and exogenous material. They can increase in size and/or frequency under environmental stress resulting in immunohistological biomarkers of water quality. Fluoxetine (FLX), a commonly prescribed antidepressant, can cause neuroendocrine, behavioral and reproductive alterations in teleost fish.

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Persistent organic pollutants reach aquatic ecosystems during application and can bioconcentrate/biomagnify because of their lipophilic nature. Toxicological studies focus almost exclusively on the active ingredients of pesticides, instead of commercial formulations, whose toxicity can differ as a result of nonspecified ingredients. The intensive use of endosulfan as a wide-ranging insecticide over the last few decades makes it one of the most frequently detected contaminants in the aquatic environment, even after it has been restricted worldwide.

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Human pharmaceuticals are pollutants of special concern due to their widespread consumption over the last decades, their high persistence in the environment, and the reported alterations produced on non-target organism. The antidepressant fluoxetine (FLX) exerts its effect by inhibiting serotonin (5-HT) reuptake at the presynaptic membrane, thus increasing brain serotonergic activity. In vertebrates, there is a clear inverse relationship between hypothalamic 5-HT levels and food intake, therefore we hypothesized that FLX would inhibit food intake, and in consequence alter energy metabolism in freshwater fish.

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Chemical pollution from pharmaceuticals is increasingly recognized as a major hazard to the aquatic biota. Among the wide variety of pharmaceuticals, fluoxetine (FLX) is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants, and therefore, it is frequently identified in the aquatic environment. As FLX is designed to alter human behaviour and many physiological pathways are conserved across vertebrates, this drug may affect the behaviour of fish living in FLX-polluted environments.

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Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have the potential to alter fish reproduction at various levels of organization. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a natural environment with heavily anthropogenic influence on the physiological processes involved in reproduction in the freshwater fish lambari (Astyanax fasciatus) using different biomarkers. Adult males and females were collected in different seasons from two distinct sites in the same watershed: Ponte Nova Reservoir (PN) considered a pristine or small anthropogenic influence reference point; and Billings Reservoir (Bil), subjected to a large anthropogenic impact.

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The dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus is a protogynous hermaphrodite fish, that maintains high levels of plasma steroids as juveniles, as substrates for sex inversion. These fish are exposed to marine pollution from oil spills during cargo handling. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as phenanthrene (Phe), are the main crude oil components and are toxic to fish, acting as endocrine disruptors (ED).

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Among the wide variety of pharmaceuticals released into the environment, Fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is one of the most prescribed for the treatment of major depression. It inhibits serotonin (5-HT) reuptake at the presinaptic membrane, increasing serotonergic activity. In vertebrates, including fish, the serotonergic system is closely related to the Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal (HPG) axis which regulates reproduction.

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The organochlorine pesticide endosulfan (ES) is used in several countries as a wide spectrum insecticide on crops with high commercial value. Due to its high toxicity to non-target animals, its persistence in the environment and its ability to act as an endocrine disrupting compound in fish, ES use is currently banned or restricted in many other countries. Previous studies on the cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus have shown that waterborne exposure to ES can lead to both decreased pituitary FSH content and histological alterations of testes.

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The occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment can affect organisms inhabiting aquatic systems, in particular shallow lakes that are vulnerable to environmental stressors. This study aimed to assess POPs accumulation and changes at histological and physiological levels in tissues of three fish species with different trophic habits. Gills, brain, muscle, liver and gonads of Odontesthes bonariensis, Oligosarcus jenynsii and Cyphocharax voga were collected from the shallow lake La Peregrina, located in an agricultural area from Argentina.

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Endosulfan (ES) is an organochlorine pesticide widely used in agriculture despite its high toxicity towards non-target organisms such as fish. It has been demonstrated that ES can cause negative effects on aquatic animals, including disruption of hormonal systems. However, the alterations produced by this pesticide on the reproductive axis of fish prior to sexual maturity, as well as possible modes of action have hardly been studied.

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Endosulfan (ES), a persistent organochlorine pesticide, is widely used despite its toxicity to non-target animals. Upon reaching water bodies, ES can cause negative effects on aquatic animals, including disruption of hormonal systems. However, the action of ES on fish reproductive axis has been hardly studied thus far.

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The organochlorine insecticide endosulfan (ES) is widely used despite its high toxicity to fish (96-h LC(50) median value of 2.6 μg L(-1)). This study aimed to assess the acute toxicity, histological and physiological parameters after exposure to 0; 0.

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An increasing number of widely used industrial and agricultural chemicals are being found to cause endocrine disruption. In fishes, xenoestrogens can induce female proteins, and in some cases, the development of testis-ova, demonstrating feminization of males. In this study we analyzed the effect of an acute exposure of adult male Cichlasoma dimerus fish to estradiol (E(2)) and octylphenol (OP).

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