Amaral André, Cabral Carolina, Guedes Cláudia, Rodrigues Armindo
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus, APT 1422, Ponta Delgada 9501-855, Portugal.
Ecotoxicology. 2007 Aug;16(6):475-82. doi: 10.1007/s10646-007-0156-y. Epub 2007 Jun 23.
The influence of extreme environments of volcanic origin over vertebrates and the cellular responses that these may give are almost unknown. The main objectives were to evaluate the exposure of mice to metals in the interior of houses of a small village settled inside a volcanic crater (Furnas, Azores), and the levels of apoptosis and metallothionein in the organs (lung, liver, and kidney) of those animals. Adult mice (Mus musculus) were captured in two areas, one with volcanic activity and the other without it over the last three centuries. In the excised organs, analysis of metals (Al, Cd, Pb, Zn), TUNEL assay for apoptosis, and immunohistochemistry for metallothionein were undertook. Mice from the area with volcanic activity presented higher levels of apoptosis and metallothionein than those from the area without volcanic activity. Such results were in agreement with the differences in metal burdens of the three organs, and interestingly these concentrations were similar to or higher than others found in heavily polluted areas outside the Azores. Thus, there may be a high risk of harmful effects for organisms, including humans, inhabiting areas with volcanism, where hazardous gases and metals in the air are very common during the entire day or even all year round.
火山源极端环境对脊椎动物的影响以及这些动物可能产生的细胞反应几乎不为人知。主要目的是评估生活在火山口内一个小村庄（亚速尔群岛的弗纳斯）房屋内的小鼠对金属的暴露情况，以及这些动物器官（肺、肝和肾）中的凋亡水平和金属硫蛋白水平。成年小鼠（小家鼠）在两个区域捕获，一个区域在过去三个世纪有火山活动，另一个区域没有。对切除的器官进行了金属（铝、镉、铅、锌）分析、凋亡的TUNEL检测以及金属硫蛋白的免疫组织化学检测。有火山活动区域的小鼠比没有火山活动区域的小鼠呈现出更高的凋亡水平和金属硫蛋白水平。这些结果与三个器官中金属负荷的差异一致，有趣的是，这些浓度与亚速尔群岛以外污染严重地区的浓度相似或更高。因此，对于居住在有火山活动地区的包括人类在内的生物来说，可能存在有害影响的高风险，在这些地区，空气中的有害气体和金属全年甚至一整天都很常见。
