Effects of sublethal concentrations of cypermethrin on the gills of Lake Van Fish (Alburnus tarichi)

ABSTRACT

Cypermethrin is one of the most commonly used pesticides in the Lake Van Basin of Turkey. In this study, the effects of a sublethal dose (0.05 µg/L) of cypermethrin for 96 h on the gills of Lake Van fish (Alburnus tarichi), the only vertebrate species living in Lake Van, were investigated. Levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), Na,K-ATPase, and DNA damage (8-OHdG) were determined immunohistochemically in the gills. In addition, changes in gill mucous cells and histopathological changes in gill tissues after 96 h were investigated. At the end of the cypermethrin administration, an increase was observed in the numbers of mitochondria-rich cells, HSP70-positive cells, and 8-OHdG-positive cells in the gills. A decrease in both the number and volume of mucous cells was detected. The expansion of blood vessels, aneurysms, lamellar lifting, hypertrophy, lamellar fusion, and necrosis were observed in gill tissues. It was concluded that the 96-h sublethal application of cypermethrin caused stress, deterioration of osmoregulation, DNA damage, and histopathological damage in the gills of Lake Van fish.

KEYWORDS:

• Histopathology
• pesticide
• cypermethrin
• Lake Van fish
• Lake Van

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the following people for their contributions to this work: Necati Özok (fish sampling), Ertuğrul Kankaya (experimental design), and Aslı Çilingir Yeltekin (laboratory processing).

Authors’ contributions

Elif Kaval Oğuz conceived the study and designed the experiments. Author read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of data and material

All relevant data are within the paper, and those are available at the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

All of the animal experimental procedures were performed in accordance with the animal study protocols approved by the Animal Researchers Local Ethic Committee of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (protocol no: 2019/5) and the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (24/04/2018-11602).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elif Kaval Oğuz

Elif Kaval Oğuz is an associate professor in the Department of Science Education, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Turkey. She obtained her PhD in Neuroscience from Medicine Faculty. She is currently working with cell cultures.