Liver melanomacrophage centres and CYP1A expression as response biomarkers to environmental pollution in European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) from the western Mediterranean Sea

Increased melanomacrophage centres in the liver of reproductively dysfunctional female greater amberjack Seriola dumerili (Risso, 1810)

“…(b) Weak immunoreaction observed in hepatocytes of both wild and captive‐reared greater amberjack. (c) Intense immunoreaction in hepatocytes from European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus sampled in an area exposed to pollutants of industrial/agricultural origin (positive control) (Basilone et al, ). Scale bars = 50 μm [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

“…An increased amount of MMCs in the liver (Passantino et al, ), as well as hepatocyte apoptosis and tumour necrosis factor expression (Corriero et al, ), was observed in juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758) reared in captivity in the North Adriatic Sea, and these conditions were possibly associated with the exposure to persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. Anchovies Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758) sampled from areas exposed to pollutants of industrial/agricultural origin showed liver areas occupied by MMCs and numbers of MMCs significantly higher than those sampled in a marine area not subjected to any known source of pollution (Basilone et al, ). Both in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Passantino et al, ) and in anchovies potentially exposed to environmental pollution (Basilone et al, ), the increased density of liver MMCs was associated with an abnormal liver cytochrome P450 monooxygenase 1A (CYP1A) expression, thus suggesting an exposure to a variety of organic environmental pollutants (Husøy, Myers, & Goksøyr, ; Jeong & Kim, ; Stegeman, ).…”

“…Anchovies Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758) sampled from areas exposed to pollutants of industrial/agricultural origin showed liver areas occupied by MMCs and numbers of MMCs significantly higher than those sampled in a marine area not subjected to any known source of pollution (Basilone et al, ). Both in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Passantino et al, ) and in anchovies potentially exposed to environmental pollution (Basilone et al, ), the increased density of liver MMCs was associated with an abnormal liver cytochrome P450 monooxygenase 1A (CYP1A) expression, thus suggesting an exposure to a variety of organic environmental pollutants (Husøy, Myers, & Goksøyr, ; Jeong & Kim, ; Stegeman, ). Thus, fish exposure to environmental pollutants may result in an increase in both CYP1A expression and MMC density.…”

“…The immunohistochemical detection of CYP1A was performed on liver sections of all the sampled fish according to the procedure by Passantino et al () and Basilone et al (). Briefly, liver sections were deparaffinized in xylene, rehydrated through graded ethanol solutions and pretreated for 10 min with 3% H 2 O 2 to inhibit endogenous peroxidase activity.…”

“…The antibody was diluted 1:50, 1:100 and 1:500 in PBS containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA). Liver sections of anchovies sampled in a marine area exposed to pollutants of industrial/agricultural origin (Basilone et al, ) were used as positive control. The immunohistochemical visualization was obtained using the Vectastain Universal Elite Kit (Vector).…”