Changes in cell-type composition in digestive gland of slugs and its influence in biomarkers following transplantation between a relatively unpolluted and a chronically metal-polluted site

Bioaccumulation and histopathological changes of the digestive gland of the land snailEobania vermiculata(Mollusca: Gastropoda), as biomarkers of terrestrial heavy metal pollution in Taif city

“…Zaldibar et al (2008) found a similar change in cell-type composition in the digestive gland of slugs and its influence in biomarkers following transplantation between a relatively unpolluted and a chronically metal-polluted site. There was a decrease in the number of digestive cells of the digestive gland of E. vermiculata collected from polluted sites (Wadi Waj garden and Qarua farm) as compared to the reference site.…”

Cadmium stress stimulates tissue turnover in Helix pomatia: increasing cell proliferation from metal tolerance to exhaustion in molluscan midgut gland

“…At least for H. pomatia, programmed cell death in the basophilic cells of the midgut gland has been interpreted as a sign of stress that increases with elevated Cd concentrations in the tissue up to a level beyond which the detoxification capacity of the protein is exceeded . Increasing rates of cell proliferation within the digestive gland upon exposure to contaminants have also been observed in other gastropod species (Zaldibar et al 2007a, b) and seem to be related to changes in cell type composition and cell renewal in the gastropod midgut gland (Zaldibar et al 2008). Several studies suggest that, upon metal pollution or contaminant exposure, digestive cell numbers in the midgut gland of pulmonate snails decrease (Marigomez et al 1996;Zaldibar et al 2007a, b), whereas excretory cell numbers increase (Marigomez et al 1996;Zaldibar et al 2007b).…”

“…Palacios, A. Pagani, S. Pérez-Rafael, M. Egg, M. Höckner, D. Schuler, M. Capdevila, S. Atrian, R. Dallinger, in preparation). Cd 2+ exposure in these animals also induces cellular alterations and programmed cell death Chabicovsky et al 2004;Zaldibar et al 2008). In contrast to the MT defense strategy, cellular alterations attributable to metal intoxication are more difficult to interpret (Dallinger et al 2001a;Knigge et al 2002), and the interplay between MT detoxification and cellular responses is not yet completely understood.…”

“…In particular, this has been observed in the digestive tissues of marine mussels and terrestrial gastropods, tissues in which most of the absorbed metals are accumulated (Zaldibar et al 2007a, b). These cellular alterations can assume characteristic patterns and have been proposed and applied as biomarkers in environmental monitoring Zaldibar et al 2008). …”

Effects of Alexandrium minutum exposure upon physiological and hematological variables of diploid and triploid oysters, Crassostrea gigas

“…Indeed, PL class composition is generally found to be specific to organ tissue, cell type, or subcellular compartment (Soudant et al, 1999). Change in cell-type composition is a general phenomenon that can take place in the digestive gland epithelia of stressed mollusks as underscored by Zaldibar et al (2008). A recent study (Zaldibar et al, 2007) demonstrated that exposure of winkles (Littorina littorea) to cadmium resulted in changes in the composition of the epithelia of the digestive gland (digestive ducts and tubules).…”