Chemical and biochemical responses to sub−lethal doses of mercury and cadmium in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Specimens of Sparus aurata were exposed to sub−lethal concentrations of Hg and Cd for 25 days and the levels of both metals were investigated in organs and tissues. Bioaccumulation of Hg decreased as follow: gills > kidney > liver > skin > muscle, while the order of Cd bioaccumulation was: liver > kidney > gills > skin > muscle. Immediately after exposure, both metals showed the highest bioaccumulation in gills and skin indicating that these organs are reliable targets for biomonitoring studies after short term exposure. Metals introduction caused a significant time-dependent concentrations increase in kidney and liver, while in the muscle a significant increase of Hg was recorded only at the end of the experimentation. The effects of exposure were also investigated, at biochemical level, in the liver, which represents the main target of xenobiotics biotransformation and metabolism in fish. Exposed fishes exhibited a reduction of total lipid level, a decrease of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), together with a MDA increase. This suggests a direct effect of contaminants on oxidative stress induction that, through the MDA increase, altered the membrane fatty acids composition decreasing the PUFA content. As it regards molecular markers related to oxidative stress and lipid metanolism, a significant increase of Nrf2, Hif−1α and Ampk and a decrease of Fas were observed after exposure to both metals, while an Nf−kB increase was recorded in specimens exposed to Hg, docuemnting a correlation with oxidative stress and consequent metabolism adaptation. Finally, these results suggest the possibility to adopt these biomarkers to explore fish metabolic responses to environmental pollution. • Hg and Cd are bioaccumulated in fish tissues inducing oxidative stress. • Hg and Cd bioaccumulation alters lipid metabolism in fish. • PUFA and MDA, as oxidative stress biomarkers, could be useful to monitor fish welfare and antioxidant status under water/environmental pollution.