Sequential ultrastructural and biochemical changes induced in vivo by the hepatotoxic microcystins in liver of the phytoplanktivorous silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Up to now, in vivo studies on the toxic effects of microcystins (MCs) on the ultrastructures of fish liver have been very limited. The phytoplanktivorous silver carp was injected i.p. with extracted hepatotoxic microcystins (mainly MC-RR and -LR) at a dose of 1000 μg MC-LReq. kg− 1 body weight, showing a time-dependent ultrastructural change in liver as well as significant increases in enzyme activity of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). We observed for the first time the occurrence of a large amount of activated secondary lysosomes, which might be an adaptive mechanism to eliminate or lessen cell damage caused by MCs through lysosome activation. Quantitative and qualitative determinations of MCs in the liver were conducted by HPLC and LC-MS2, respectively. MCs concentration in the liver reached the maximum (114.20 μg g− 1 dry weight) after 3 h post-injection, and then rapidly dropped to 7.57 μg g−1 dry weight at 48 h, indicating a depuration of 99% accumulated MC-LReq. On the other hand, a decrease trend in glutathione (GSH) concentration was observed in the liver of silver carp while the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) increased significantly after injection. The high tolerance of silver carp to MCs might be due to the high basic GSH level in their liver, and/or an increased GSH synthesis.