Abstract
In the present work the effect of Hg2+ and Cu2+ on the level of cytosolic Ca2+ in mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) haemolymph cells were investigated by confocal microscopy and spectrofluorimetry utilizing the fluorescent dye Fluo3. In the blood cells of marine molluscs, exposure to Cu2+ and Hg2+ in the nanomolar and micromolar range causes a time-and concentration-dependent increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ level. Both the presence of a low-calcium containing medium and pretreatment of the cells with the channel blocker Verapamil greatly reduced the effects of higher (50 μM) Hg2+ concentrations, this indicating that Hg2+ enhances the influx of extracellular Ca2+ partly through activation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. Low concentrations of Hg2+ (1 μM) and also of Cu2+ (0.5 μM), an “essential” element, were able to induce a sustained increase in cytosolic Ca2+, which was not affected either by Verapamil pretreatment or by lowering the extracellular calcium concentration. These data indicate that in mussel haemocytes heavy metal cations impair Ca2+ homeostasis not only by affecting Ca2+ channels, but also by interfering with other mechanisms of calcium transport across cellular membranes, such as the Ca2+-ATPases. The resulting increase in cytosolic Ca2+ could activate Ca-dependent processes which may be involved in many of the biochemical and physiological alterations observed in the cells of metal-exposed mussels. Specimens used in these experiments were collected from the river Linker near Plymouth, U.K. in June 1991.
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Communicated by M. Sarà, Genova
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Viarengo, A., Canesi, L., Moore, M.N. et al. Effects of Hg2+ and Cu2+ on the cytosolic Ca2+ level in molluscan blood cells evaluated by confocal microscopy and spectrofluorimetry. Marine Biology 119, 557–564 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354318
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354318