Validation of Armadillo officinalis Dumèril, 1816 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) as a bioindicator: in vivo study of air benzene exposure

• Published in: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 2015-04, Vol.114, p.171-178
• Main Authors: Agodi, A, Oliveri Conti, G, Barchitta, M, Quattrocchi, A, Lombardo, B M, Montesanto, G, Messina, G, Fiore, M, Ferrante, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcysteine - analogs & derivatives; Acetylcysteine - analysis; Acetylcysteine - metabolism; Air Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; Air Pollutants - toxicity; Animals; Armadillo; Benzene; Benzene - pharmacokinetics; Benzene - toxicity; Biomarkers - analysis; Biomedical materials; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Crustacea; DNA, Mitochondrial - analysis; Environmental Monitoring; Exposure; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hepatopancreas - drug effects; Hepatopancreas - metabolism; Human; Humans; In vivo tests; Isopoda; Isopoda - drug effects; Isopoda - metabolism; Liquid chromatography; Oniscidea; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reproducibility of Results; Reproduction; Sorbic Acid - analogs & derivatives; Sorbic Acid - analysis; Sorbic Acid - metabolism; Surgical implants; Tissue Distribution
• ISSN: 0147-6513; 1090-2414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2015.01.011

This study tests the potential for using Armadillo officinalis as a bioindicator of exposure to and activation of benzene metabolic pathways using an in vivo model. A. officinalis specimens collected in a natural reserve were divided into a control and three test groups exposed to 2.00, 5.32 or 9.09 µg/m(3) benzene for 24h. Three independent tests were performed to assess model reproducibility. Animals were dissected to obtain three pooled tissue samples per group: hepatopancreas (HEP), other organs and tissues (OOT), and exoskeleton (EXO). Muconic acid (MA), S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA), two human metabolites of benzene, and changes in mtDNA copy number, a human biomarker of benzene exposure, were determined in each sample; benzene was determined only in EXO. MA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection, S-PMA by triple quadrupole mass spectrometer liquid chromatography with electro spray ionization (LC-MS-ESI-TQD), mtDNA by real-time quantitative PCR and end-point PCR, and benzene by quadrupole mass spectrometer head-space gas chromatography (HSGC-MS). MA and S-PMA levels rose both in HEP and OOT; EXO exhibited increasing benzene concentrations; and mtDNA copy number rose in HEP but not in OOT samples. Overall, our findings demonstrate that A. officinalis is a sensitive bioindicator of air benzene exposure and show for the first time its ability to reproduce human metabolic dynamics.