Histopathological effects of copper and lithium in the ramshorn snail, Marisa cornuarietis (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia)

The aim of this study was to determine and quantify effects of copper and lithium in tissues of early juveniles of the ramshorn snail, Marisa cornuarietis. For this purpose, hatchlings of M. cornuarietis were exposed for 7 days to a range of five different sublethal concentrations of copper (5, 10, 25, 50, and 75 μg Cu2+ L−1) and lithium (50, 100, 200, 1000, and 5000 μg Li+ L−1). Both metals changed the tissue structure of epidermis, hepatopancreas, and gills, varying between slight and strong reactions, depending on the copper and lithium concentration. The histopathological changes included alterations in epithelial and mucous cells of the epidermis, swelling of hepatopancreatic digestive cells, alterations in the number of basophilic cells, abnormal apices of digestive cells, irregularly shaped cilia and changes in the amount of mucus in the gills. The most sensible organ in M. cornuarietis indicating Cu or Li pollution is the hepatopancreas (LOECs were 10 μg Cu2+ L−1, or 200 μg Li+ L−1). In epidermis, mantle and gills relevant effects occurred with higher LOECs (50 μg Cu2+ L−1, or 1000 μg Li+ L−1). Base on LOECs, our results indicated that histopathological endpoints are high sensitivity to copper and lithium compared to endpoints for embryonic developmental toxicity.

► Histopathological alterations observed in snails exposed to Cu2+ or Li+.
► The most sensible organ in M. cornuarietis is the hepatopancreas.
► The toxicity of copper is about 10 times higher than the toxicity of lithium.