Biomarkers of oxidative stress and metal accumulation in marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)

Abstract

To understand the effect of metals on the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus and the possible environment-induced changes in oxidative stress enzymes, we determined the concentrations of 18 metals: Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, In, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn, in the tissues (liver, skin, and muscle) and water samples collected from different locations in Serbia. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and changes in concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and sulfhydryl groups (SH) were analyzed in the tissues of the sampled frogs. The concentrations of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, and Ni were highest in the liver, whereas those of Ba, Ca, Li, Mn, Pb, Sr, and Zn were highest in the skin. Hg correlated positively with liver SOD (in frogs from Danube-Tisza-Danube Canal (DTD)), muscle CAT (DTD), and muscle GST Ponjavica River (PO); Pb demonstrated a strong positive correlation with liver GR in frogs from Mt. Fruška Gora (FG); Cd only exhibited a positive correlation with AChE in the skin of frogs from DTD. In the skin, Zn correlated positively with AChE (DTD), SH groups (PO), and CAT (FG), and negatively with CAT, GST, and SH in the liver of frogs from DTD. Examination of these oxidative stress biomarkers, together with analysis of metal accumulation in the liver and skin of marsh frogs, provides a powerful tool for the assessment of metal pollution.