The Cytotoxic and Ultrastrctural Perturbations of Aluminum Exposed Nile Catfish with Special Reference to the Mitigating Effect of Vitamin C

The genotoxic parameters are currently among the most valuable fish biomarkers for environmental risk assessment. So, the present study was directed to explore the toxic impacts of Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) on DNA damage, apoptosis, antioxidant status and ultrastructural investigations of Nile catfish. The experiment was carried out on 48 fish that randomly divided into four equal groups with two replicates; the first group exposed to 1/20 LC50 of Al//www.lifesciencesite.com, the second group exposed to the combined doses of AlCl3 (1/20 LC50) and vitamin C (Vit. C) at dose of 5 ppm, the third group exposed to Vit C at the dose previously mentioned and the fourth group was kept as negative control. The experiment was terminated after six months where the fish were sacrified and specimens from liver and gills of all groups were obtained and kept at -20 degrees C till applying the required measurements and another specimen from the same organs were fixed in 10\% neutral -buffered formalin and 3\% glutaraldehyde solution for histopathological examination. The results indicated pronounced significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and significant decrease in both reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity. AlCl3 elicited an obvious increase in oxidative DNA damage and frequency of apoptotic cells, these manifestation were markedly ameliorated in the group exposed to the combined doses of AlCl3 and Vit C. The ultrastructural histopathological findings proved the aforementioned results. It could be concluded that AlCl3 elucidated a marked ruinous effects on the oxidative and genotoxic impacts as well as the histopathological alterations which were alleviated by Vitamin C. {[}Gihan G. Moustafa, Samah Khalil; Mohamed M. A. Hussein and Zeinab, M. Labib The Cytotoxic and Ultrastrctural Perturbations of Aluminum Exposed Fish with Special Reference to the Mitigating Effect of Vitamin C] Life Sci J 2012; 9(4):5198-5210]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 773