Immunolocalization of G-protein alpha subunits in the olfactory system of the cartilaginous fish Scyliorhinus canicula.

In the olfactory and vomeronasal systems of vertebrates, the morphology of the receptor neurons, the receptor gene family they express, the G-protein coupled with the receptor (in particular the G-protein alpha subunit), and their projection to the olfactory bulb are correlated. Much information about this complicated system have been collected in different groups, but nothing is known about Chondrichthyes. In this work, the presence and distribution of immunoreactivity for different types of G-protein alpha subunit (Galpha(o), Galpha(q) and Galpha(s/olf)) were investigated in the olfactory mucosa and olfactory bulb of the shark Scyliorhinus canicula.

Echinoderm regenerative response as a sensitive ecotoxicological test for the exposure to endocrine disrupters: effects of p,p'DDE and CPA on crinoid arm regeneration.

Echinoderms are valuable test species in marine ecotoxicology and offer a wide range of biological processes appropriate for this approach. Regenerating echinoderms can be regarded as amenable experimental models for testing the effects of exposure to contaminants, particularly endocrine disrupter compounds (EDCs). As regeneration is a typical developmental process, physiologically regulated by humoral mechanisms, it is highly susceptible to the action of pseudo-hormonal contaminants which appear to be obvious candidates for exerting deleterious actions.