Lesions induced in the gills of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) by exposure to acutely lethal aqueous concentrations of inorganic mercury and copper were examined by light and electron microscopy. Lesions were most severe during the first 48 hours of exposure to the metals and were characterized primarily by apoptosis of lamellar epithelial cells and lamellar fusion. The latter process occurred either by simple apposition of adjacent lamellae to each other or through epithelial hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Except for hypertrophy of and increased number of primary lysosomes in lamellar epithelial cells of animals exposed to mercury, branchial lesions were not prominent in fish collected between 48 and 96 hours. The branchial lesions observed in this study are compared with pathological processes occurring in mammals.
References
1.
AbelP. D.SkidmoreJ. F.:
Toxic effects of an anionic detergent on the gills of rainbow trout.Water Res9:
759–765,
1975
2.
AmendD. F.YasutakeW. T.MorganR.:
Some factors influencing susceptibility of rainbow trout to the acute toxicity of an ethyl mercury phosphate formulation (Timsan).Trans Am Fish Soc98:
419–425,
1969
3.
AxlineS. G.CohnZ. A.:
In vitro induction of lysosomal enzymes by phagocytosis.J Exp Med131:
1239–1260,
1970
4.
BremnerI.:
Heavy metal toxicities.Q Rev Biophys7:
75–124,
1974
5.
BurrowsR. E.:
Effects of accumulated excretory products on hatchery-reared salmonids.Res Rep US Fish Wildl Serv66:
1–12,
1964
6.
CameronJ. N.:
Regulation of blood pH in teleost fish.Respir Physiol33:
129–144,
1978
7.
ConteF. P.LinD. H. Y.:
Kinetics of cellular morphogenesis in gill epithelium during seawater adaptation of Oncorhynchus (Walbum).Comp Biochem Physiol23:
945–957,
1967
8.
DaoustP.-Y.:
Acute pathological effects of mercury, cadmium and copper in rainbow trout.
Ph.D. thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada,
1981
9.
DonM. M.AblettG.BishopC. J.BundesenP. G.DonaldK. J.SearleJ.KerrJ. F. R.:
Death of cells by apoptosis following attachment of specifically allergized lymphocytes in vitro.Austr J Exp Biol Med Sci55:
407–417,
1977
10.
EllerL. L.:
Pathology in redear sunfish exposed to Hydrothol 191.Trans Am Fish Soc98:
52–59,
1969
11.
EllerL. L.:
Gill lesions in freshwater teleosts. In:
The Pathology of Fishes,
ed.
RibelinMigaki,
chap. 11,
pp. 305–330.
The University of Wisconsin Press,
Madison,1975
12.
FergusonH. W.:
Scanning and transmission electron microscopical observations on Hexamita salmonis (Moore, 1922) related to mortalities in rainbow trout fry Salmo gairdneri Richardson.J Fish Diseases2:
57–67,
1979
13.
GardnerG. R.YevichP. P.:
Histological and hematological responses of an estuarine teleost to cadmium.J Fish Res Board Can27:
2185–2196,
1970
14.
GirardJ. P.PayanP.:
Ion exchanges through respiratory and chloride cells in freshwater- and seawater-adapted teleosteans.Am J Physiol238:
R260–R268,
1980
15.
GlinsmannW. H.EricssonJ. L. E.:
Observations on the subcellular organization of hepatic parenchymal cells. II. Evolution of reversible alterations induced by hypoxia.Lab Invest15:
762–777,
1966
16.
HickmanC. P.Jr.TrumpB. R.:
The kidney. In:
Fish Physiology,
ed.
HoarRandall,
vol. 1,
pp. 91–239.
Academic Press,
New York,1969
17.
KerrJ. F. R.WyllieA. H.CurrieA. R.:
Apoptosis: a basic biological phenomenon with wide-ranging implications in tissue kinetics.Br J Cancer26:
239–257,
1972
18.
KerstetterT. H.KirschnerL. B.RafuseD. D.:
On the mechanisms of sodium ion transport by the irrigated gills of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri).J Gen Physiol56:
342–359,
1970
19.
KoenigH.:
Intravital staining of lysosomes by basic dyes and metallic ions.J Histochem Cytochem11:
120–121,
1963
20.
LaurentP.DunelS.:
Morphology of gill epithelia in fish.Am J Physiol238:
R147–R159,
1980
21.
LehningerA. L.:
Biochemistry,
pp. 271–272,
2nd ed.Worth Publishers,
New York,1975
22.
McAdaraghJ. P.BergelandM. E.MeyerR. C.JohnshoyM. W.StotzI. J.BenfieldD. A.HammerR.:
Pathogenesis of rotaviral enteritis in gnotobiotic pigs: a microscopic study.Am J Vet Res41:
1572–1581,
1980
23.
MatthiessenP.BrafieldA. E.:
The effects of dissolved zinc on the gills of the stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (L).J Fish Biol5:
607–613,
1973
24.
MorganM.TovellP. W. A.:
The structure of the gill of the trout, Salmo gairdneri (Richardson).Zeitschrift fur Zellforschung142:
147–162,
1973
25.
MotaisR.Garcia-RomeuF.:
Transport mechanisms in the teleostean gill and amphibian skin.Annu Rev Physiol34:
141–176,
1972
26.
NewsteadJ. D.:
Fine structure of the respiratory lamellae of teleostean gills.Zeitschrift fur Zellforschung79:
396–428,
1967
27.
PayneB. J.SaundersL. Z.:
Heavy metal nephropathy of rodents. Vet Pathol [suppl.5]15:
51–87,
1978
28.
RandallD. J.:
Gas exchange in fish. In:
Fish Physiology,
ed.
HoarRandall,
vol. IV,
pp.253–292.
Academic Press,
New York,1970
29.
SeilerM. W.RennkeH. G.VenkatachalamM. A.CotranR. S.:
Pathogenesis of polycation-induced alterations (“fusion”) of glomerular epithelium.Lab Invest36:
48–61,
1977
30.
SkidmoreF. M.TovellP. W. A.:
Toxic effects of zinc sulphate on the gills of rainbow trout.Water Res6:
217–230,
1972
31.
SmithC. E.PiperR. G.:
Lesions associated with chronic exposure to ammonia. In:
The Pathology of Fishes,
ed.
RibelinMigaki,
chap. 21,
pp. 497–514.
The University of Wisconsin Press,
Madison,1975
32.
StaehelinL. A.:
Structure and function of intercellular junctions.Int Rev Cytol39:
191–283,
1974
33.
SternliebI.GoldfischerS.:
Heavy metals and lysosomes. In:
Lysosomes in Biology and Pathology,
ed.
DingleDean,
vol. 5,
chap. 7,
pp. 185–200.
North Holland Publ. Co.,
Amsterdam,1976
34.
WobeserG.:
Acute toxicity of methyl mercury chloride and mercuric chloride for rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fry and fingerlings.J Fish Res Board Can32:
2005–2013,
1975
35.
WobeserG.:
Prolonged oral administration of methyl mercury chloride to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fingerlings.J Fish Res Board Can32:
2015–2023,
1975
