Cathepsin B is a cystein proteinase scarcely studied in crustaceans. Its function has not been clearly described in shrimp species belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata, which includes the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and other species from the Penaeidae family. Studies on vertebrates suggest that these lysosomal enzymes intracellularly hydrolize protein, as other cystein proteinases...

The concentrations of eight metals were determined by a nondestructive neutron activation technique for eleven species of fish and shellfish. The marine organisms were collected from ocean dump sites off New York City, off New Haven, Connecticut, and off Delaware Bay. Antimony was not detected in most of the organisms examined in thid study; the detection limit was about 0.02 to 0.05 ppm. Antim...

Toxoplasma gondii is associated with morbidity and mortality in a variety of marine mammals, including fatal meningoencephalitis in the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis). The source(s) of T. gondii infection and routes of transmission in the marine environment are unknown. We hypothesise that filter-feeding marine bivalve shellfish serve as paratenic hosts by assimilation and concentra...

Hydrolytic enzymes from hypopharyngeal gland extracts of newly emerged, nurse and foraging workers of two eusocial bees, Scaptotrigona postica, a native Brazilian stingless bee, and the Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera) in Brazil, were compared. The hypopharyngeal gland is rich in enzymes in both species. Fifteen different enzymes were found in the extracts, with only a few quantitative di...

The sulfate uptake and accumulation in mouse digestive organs were studied by light microscopic radioautography. Two litters of normal ddY mice 30 days after birth, each consisting of 3 animals, were studied. One litter of animals were sacrificed 30 min after the intraperitoneal injections with phosphate buffered Na2(35)SO4, and the other litter animals were sacrificed 12 hr after the injection...

With the aim of developing biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) genotoxicity for biomonitoring of the marine environment, the formation of DNA adducts and oxidative DNA damage was studied in the sentinel organism Mytilus. Mussels M. galloprovincialis were exposed for 21 d to different doses of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) (50 and 100 mg B[a]P kg–1 dry wt mussel d–1) via trophic intake....

BACKGROUND Though a number of studies have been conducted to explore the association between myeloperoxidase (MPO)-463G > A polymorphism and cancer risk, the results remain inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to derive a more systematic estimation of this relationship. METHOD Relevant studies were searched by PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, Google Scholar, Ovid, and Cochrane library p...

Different light microscopical procedures for the histochemical demonstration of catalase were tested in cryostat sections of mussel digestive gland tissue by using both benzidine and diaminobenzidine (DAB) as hydrogen donors. The selected procedure, which was also applied to mouse liver for comparative purposes, consisted of incubation in media containing 0.2% DAB and 0.3% H2O2 at pH 10.4 for 3...

One of the most widespread aquatic organisms in rivers and estuarine ecosystems, world, is Asian clam Corbiculafluminea. This clam, that can adapt to environmental changes, an invasive species several areas it was adopted as a model for toxicity tests. study evaluated effects exposure cadmium (Cd), microplastics (MPs) their mixtures on C. fluminea. The oxidative stress responses, lipid peroxida...

The pancreas is an organ that actually consists of two glands: one exocrine and one endocrine gland. The glandular epithelium is a specialized epithelial tissue which produces and excretes substances to control our bodily functions. The exocrine gland secretes its fluids via ducts (into the intestinal lumen), while the endocrine gland secretes its substances via the extracellular space into the...