Aluminum exposure alters the pedal mucous secretions of the chocolate‐band snail, Eobania vermiculata (Gastropoda: Helicidae)

Aluminum (Al) is used in everyday life and present in food drugs, packaging, industry, and agriculture. Although it is the most common metal in the Earth crust, a correlation has been demonstrated between its presence and various pathologies, even serious ones, especially of a neurological type. How...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microscopy research and technique 2024-07, Vol.87 (7), p.1453-1466
Main Authors: Guglielmi, Marco Vito, Mastrodonato, Maria, Semeraro, Daniela, Mentino, Donatella, Capriello, Teresa, La Pietra, Alessandra, Giarra, Antonella, Scillitani, Giovanni, Ferrandino, Ida
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Aluminum - toxicity
Aluminum chloride
Animals
biomarker
Composition
Earth crust
Eobania vermiculata
Feet
Food industry
Food packaging
Glycan
histochemistry
Lectins - metabolism
Mollusks
Mucins - metabolism
Mucus
Mucus - chemistry
Mucus - drug effects
Mucus - metabolism
Packaging
Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides - pharmacology
Residues
Rheological properties
Secretions
Snails
Snails - chemistry
Snails - drug effects
toxicology
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Summary:Aluminum (Al) is used in everyday life and present in food drugs, packaging, industry, and agriculture. Although it is the most common metal in the Earth crust, a correlation has been demonstrated between its presence and various pathologies, even serious ones, especially of a neurological type. However, there is a histological gap regarding the role Al can have in contact with the covering and secreting epithelia. The alterations of the ventral and dorsal foot mucocytes and their secretions of the snail Eobania vermiculata caused by Al were investigated in situ by histochemical and lectin‐histochemical techniques. Administration to different experimental groups took place for 3 and 9 days with 50 and 200 μM of AlCl3. Several types of mucocytes were detected with a prevalent secretion of acid glycans in the foot of E. vermiculata. Sulfated glycans prevail in the dorsal region, with one type showing only fucosylated residues and another also having galactosaminylated and glycosaminylated residues. Carboxylated glycans prevail in the ventral region, with presence of galactosaminylated, glycosaminylated, and fucosylated residuals in both cells. Snails treated presented a general decrease of mucin amount in the secreting cells and affected the mucus composition. These changes could alter the rheological and functional properties of the mucus with possible implications for the health of the treated animals. Research Highlights Snails were fed with Al‐contaminated lettuce at different concentrations. In the foot mucocytes produced mucus with prevailing acidic glycans. In the treated resulted a reduction in the amount of mucus and an alteration of glycan composition. Aluminum treatments alter the glycosylation and secretion patterns of mucins in the foot of the snail Eobania vermiculata. Therefore, this species is proposed as a model in ecotoxicological studies concerning metals in the soil.
ISSN:1059-910X
1097-0029
1097-0029
DOI:10.1002/jemt.24529