The amphibianPelophylax bergeri(Günther, 1986) testis poly(ADP-ribose)polymerases: relationship to endocrine disruptors during spermatogenesis

Abstract

In a growing deterioration of the ecosystem both in terms of biodiversity and ecological features, even more problematic is the conservation of species. The aim of this work was to study seasonal variations of biochemical and molecular DNA damage markers in Pelophylax bergeri exposed to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals. Frogs were collected in the main phase of the reproductive cycle: in April and May, during active spermatogenesis and the breeding season, and in October and November, in spermatogenetic regression, from a sampling site in the polluted Sarno River and from a clean reference site (Matese Lake). DNA profile and poly(ADPribose) polymerase (PARP) activity were evaluated in the testis. In the main phases of the reproductive cycle, all specimens from Sarno River showed a PARP activity higher than that measured in the same frog's testis from Matese Lake. In addition, the PARP activity in active spermatogenesis was always higher compared with the activity in the spermatogenetic regression in Sarno River frogs. PARP2, usually activated in response to exposure to heavy metals, was expressed in all testes. In the species examined from Sarno River, no evident correlation between testis DNA damage and PARP activation was found. The working hypothesis is that PARP, implicated in genome surveillance and protection, might represent in frog spermatogenesis an appealing tool for genotoxic risk assessment useful to define a warning alarm for its survival.

Antioxidative Defense and Fertility Rate in the Assessment of Reprotoxicity Risk Posed by Global Warming

“…In fact, this effect is involved in the regulation of several cellular functions related to the maintenance of genomic integrity (DNA repair, gene amplification, apoptosis) and the expression and propagation of genetic information. Higher expression of PARP in the testis was found, highlighting the role of structural integrity in sperm motility and viability [96].…”

Protamine-like proteins analyses as emerging biotechnique for cadmium impact assessment on male mollusk Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819)

“…Usually, heavy metals can reach the cell nucleus and damage DNA nitrogenous bases because they form reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are highly reactive towards cellular constituents (Piscopo et al, 2018a;Guerriero et al, 2003). Particularly, changes in the levels of ROS can lead to activation or inactivation of transcription factors leading to alterations in the reproductive process (Guerriero et al, 2005;Guerriero et al, 2006;Guerriero 2009;De Maio et al, 2014). Indeed, earlier studies suggested that some heavy metals affect fertility and are associated with abnormal sperm concentration and motility, impaired spermatogenesis, and hormonal imbalance in the exposed organisms (Li et al, 2015).…”

Soil Remediation Assessment by Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species in Lizard Testis: An Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Approach

“…A reliable monitoring of contaminated soil or marine remediation requires the species identification [39,44] and their suitable indicators (https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_ report.cfm?dirEntryId=285170, [22]). Ecoremed, the project of remediation of the Land of Fires, adopted an ecofriendly approach in which many bioindicators with the inclusion of the health evaluation of vertebrate biosentinels have been applied.…”

“…Conversely, the use of the DNA repair by PARP activity contributes to explain why the species where numerous also if their DNA testis were seriously damaged. As known, PARP represents the first molecular response to genomic material damage and is correlated to DNA repair [33,39].…”

“…The pellets (nuclear fractions) washed with buffer A without Triton X-100 (buffer B) were suspended in a small volume of buffer B containing 2% glycerol. The enzymatic activity was performed as described essentially in [4,39] for testis nuclear fractions of lizards from polluted sites (C), before and after remediation, between the PARP activity and the antioxidant capacity for all the examined samples. In fact, in samples before remediation, where the antioxidant capacity is lower than control, PARP activity is significantly higher and vice versa in unpolluted site, N, and C post-remediation samples (Figure 4).…”