Histopathological alterations, biochemical responses and acetylcholinesterase levels in Clarias gariepinus as biomarkers of exposure to organophosphates pesticides

Abstract

Organophosphate pesticides, commonly used in large scale farming, have been found to be major contaminants in aquatic environment. Clarias gariepinus was exposed to acute and sublethal concentrations of phostoxin and DD Force to evaluate single and joint action toxicity of the organophosphates. Effects of phostoxin and DD force on antioxidant enzymes, fish organs and acetylcholinesterase levels in fingerlings and juveniles of C. gariepinus were also investigated. The lethal concentrations (96 h LC50) for phostoxin and DD Force were 0.631 and 1.759 mg/l, respectively. The results obtained from the bioassay showed that phostoxin was 2.8× more toxic than DD Force after exposure of C. gariepinus. Joint action toxicity evaluations of phostoxin and DD Force showed that the interaction between the chemicals was synergistic (RTU >1). The biochemical responses in the exposed fish differed significantly (P < 0.05) from the control fish. The result of acetylcholinesterase study revealed significant difference between acetylcholinesterase levels in the exposed fish and control, with reduction in the acetylcholineterase level in fish exposed to sublethal concentrations of phostoxin and DD Force. Haematological studies revealed an increase in WBC, RBC, PCV and platelets in the exposed fish. Histopathology of the gills showed shortened primary lamellae, loss of secondary lamellae and loss of ceratobrachial bones. In the acute toxicity studies, respiratory stress, erratic swimming and instant death of fish were observed in the exposed fish. This study reveals that changes in histopathology and acetylcholinesterase level are good biomarkers and can be successfully used to detect exposure to organophosphates pesticides in fish.

Toxic effects of indoxacarb on gill and kidney histopathology and biochemical indicators in common carp (Cyprinus carpio )

“…Lamellar fusion occurs due to the separation of lamellar epithelium, hyperplasia and high mucus secretion (Roberts, ). Similar histological and biochemical problems were reported in different species exposed to pesticides (Boran et al., ; Doherty et al., ).…”

“…Similar histological and biochemical problems were reported in different species exposed to pesticides (Boran et al, 2010;Doherty et al, 2016).…”

“…However, there is no study about histopathological and physiological responses of teleost to indoxacarb exposure. Nevertheless, several studies have shown pesticides exposure led to physiological disturbance including hydromineral, enzymatic and metabolic changes (Rao, 2006;Saravanan, Kumar, & Ramesh, 2011;Veeraiah et al, 2013) and histopathological effects on different fish tissues (Adel et al, 2016;Boran, Altinok, & Capkin, 2010;Doherty, Ladipo, Aneyo, Adeola, & Odulele, 2016;Xing et al, 2012). Stressful conditions cause hyperglycaemia, (Mommsen, Vijayan, & Moon, 1999) and toxicant exposure cause stress in fish (Banaee, Sureda, Mirvaghefi, & Ahmadi, 2011).…”

Sublethal doses of copper sulphate initiate deregulation of glial cytoskeleton, NF-kB and PARP expression in Capoeta umbla brain tissue

“…Moreover, it was shown that the oxidative stress induced by excessive copper content may be prevented by NF-kB activation in human embryonic kidney and mouse embryonic fibroblast cell cultures (Kenneth et al, 2014). Doherty et al (2016) presented the results of histopathology studies of the gills as a good biomarker for detecting pesticide toxicity in fish. The histopathological changes were associated with a reduction of acetylcholinesterase level in the fish exposed to pesticides.…”

Fish as a model to assess chemical toxicity in bone

“…Whether atrazine interferes with Ar signaling is still unknown, but altered androgen metabolism was observed in fish exposed to atrazine (Moore and Waring, 1998;Spano et al, 2004). On the contrary, Dichlorvosan insecticide that shortens ceratobranchial bones in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus; Doherty et al, 2016)was found to affect Ar activity in a cell-based screening assay (Tavassoli et al, 2007), while also inhibiting acetylcholinesterase and inducing oxidative stress in vivo (Liu et al, 2015;Doherty et al, 2016).…”