Immunohistological biomarkers of toxicity by a pharmaceutical antidepressant in the freshwater cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus (Teleostei, Cichliformes)

DA CUÑA, R.H.; REY VAZQUEZ, G.; LO NOSTRO, F.; DORELLE L.

BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2020 vol. 104 p. 180 - 184

0007-4861

Melano-macrophage centers (MMCs) are nodular clusters of pigmented macrophages, implicated in homeostasis and destruction and recycling of endogenous and exogenous material. They can increase in size and/or frequency under environmental stress resulting in immunohistological biomarkers of water quality. Fluoxetine (FLX), a commonly prescribed antidepressant, can cause neuroendocrine, behavioral and reproductive alterations in teleost fish. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of a two-week 50 μg/L FLX exposure on MMCs in histological sections of spleen and head-kidney (HK) of the cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus. In the spleen, FLX caused an increase in the area and a decrease in the number of MMCs. An increase in the proportion of the HK occupied by MMCs was observed in FLX-exposed fish, due to an increase in their number but not their area. The deposition rate of MMCs varies according to the hemolymphopoietic organ and would be the result of a differential response to FLX on homeostatic functions (elimination of cellular debris, iron processing and immune response).