부산대학교 도서관

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2008.03.001 Byline: Jose Augusto de Oliveira David (a), Renato B. Salaroli (b), Carmem S. Fontanetti (a) Keywords: Bivalve; Cell turnover; Gill filaments; Histopathology; Pollutants; Santos estuary Abstract: The impact of pollutants in an organism can be observed by changes in functional complexity at different levels. Bivalve gills are suitable for histopathological analysis because of their structure and function. This study aimed at examining the morphology of Mytella falcata gill filaments from three sites in the Santos estuary (Sao Paulo, Brazil) with different levels of environmental degradation to identify possible changes in gill structure and discuss the significance of these alterations. For this purpose, histological, histochemical and ultrastructural techniques were used. The filaments of animals from site A (less impacted site) were intact, while in sites B and C, pathological changes were observed, such as: detachment of the epithelium in the intermediate zone, morphological changes of this epithelium, inflammatory process, increase in the number of mucous cells and cell turnover processes. These results suggest that the related changes are an attempt to prevent the entrance of pollutants through gill filaments into the entire organism and that cell turnover is the final way to compensate cell injury. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. 24A, n[degrees]1515, CP 199, CEP 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil (b) NAP/MEPA, ESALQ, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Padua Dias, n[degrees]11, CP 9, CEP 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil Article History: Received 21 December 2007; Revised 29 February 2008; Accepted 1 March 2008