| Use of the Land Snail Helix aspersa as Sentinel Organism for Monitoring Ecotoxicologic Effects of Urban Pollution: An Integrated Approach Francesco Regoli, Stefania Gorbi, Daniele Fattorini, Sara Tedesco, Alessandra Notti, Nicola Machella, Raffaella Bocchetti, Maura Benedetti, and Francesco Piva Istituto di Biologia e Genetica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy Abstract
Atmospheric pollution from vehicular traffic is a matter of growing interest, often leading to temporary restrictions in urban areas. Although guidelines indicate limits for several parameters, the real toxicologic impacts remain largely unexplored in field conditions. In this study our aim was to validate an ecotoxicologic approach to evaluate both bioaccumulation and toxicologic effects caused by airborne pollutants. Specimens of the land snail Helix aspersa were caged in five sites in the urban area of Ancona, Italy. After 4 weeks, trace metals (cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured and these data integrated with the analyses of molecular and biochemical responses. Such biomarkers reflected the induction of detoxification pathways or the onset of cellular toxicity caused by pollutants. Biomarkers that correlated with contaminant accumulation included levels of metallothioneins, activity of biotransformation enzymes (ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase) , and peroxisomal proliferation. More general responses were investigated as oxidative stress variations, including efficiency of antioxidant defenses (catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferases, glutathione peroxidases, and total glutathione) and total oxyradical scavenging capacity toward peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals, onset of cellular damages (i.e., lysosomal destabilization) , and loss of DNA integrity. Results revealed a marked accumulation of metals and PAHs in digestive tissues of organisms maintained in more traffic-congested sites. The contemporary appearance of several alterations confirmed the cellular reactivity of these chemicals with toxicologic effects of potential concern for human health. The overall results of this exploratory study suggest the utility of H. aspersa as a sentinel organism for biomonitoring the biologic impact of atmospheric pollution in urban areas. Key words: atmospheric pollutants, bioindicators, biomarkers, DNA integrity, lysosomes, metallothioneins, oxidative stress, peroxisomes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, trace metals. Environ Health Perspect 114:63-69 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8397 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 20 September 2005]
Address correspondence to F. Regoli, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Ranieri Monte d'Ago, 60100 Ancona, Italy. Telephone: 39 071 2204613. Fax: 39 071 2204609. E-mail: f.regoli@univpm.it We thank I. Alessandrini (Office for Public Works and Traffic, Municipality of Ancona) for his collaboration and for providing data on traffic intensities. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 9 June 2005 ; accepted 20 September 2005.
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