Cerebral ganglion ultrastructure and differential proteins revealed using proteomics in the aplysiid (Notarcus leachii cirrosus Stimpson) under cadmium and lead stress

• Cadmium and lead stress can cause damage in cerebral ganglion cells of aplysiid.
• Cadmium and lead stress can induce change of expression level of related proteins.
• Changed proteins are useful to learn cadmium and lead toxicity in cerebral ganglion.

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are both highly toxic metals in environments. However the toxicological mechanism is not clear. In this study, the aplysiid, Notarcus leachii cirrosus Stimpson (NLCS) was subjected to Cd (NLCS-Cd) or Pb (NLCS-Pb). The cerebral ganglion of NLCS was investigated with a transmission electron microscope. Next the differential proteins were separated and identified using proteomic approaches. Eighteen protein spots in NLCS-Cd and seventeen protein spots in NLCS-Pb were observed to be significantly changed. These protein spots were further excised in gels and identified. A hypothetical pathway was drawn to show the correlation between the partially identified proteins. The results indicated that damage to the cerebral ganglion was follows: cell apoptosis, lysosomes proliferation, cytoskeleton disruption, and oxidative stress. These phenomena and data indicated potential biomarkers for evaluating the contamination levels of Cd and Pb. This study provided positive insights into the mechanisms of Cd and Pb toxicity.

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