Nonylphenol provokes a vesiculation of the Golgi apparatus in three fish epidermis cultures

The aim of this work was to study the effects of nonylphenol and waste wate r on the cell ultrastructure of fish skin. Therefore, besides a recently es tablished primary cell culture and a cell line, an epidermal tissue culture of fish was developed and tested. In all three systems a prominent vesicul ation of the Golgi apparatus was observed after exposure to nonylphenol, wh ich has not been described before and therefore strongly suggests an effect that might indicate exposure to nonylphenol and/or related substances. The Epithelial papulosum cyprini cell line was the most sensitive to nonylphen ol, followed by the primary cell culture of epidermis cells and then the ex plant tissue culture. The vesiculation of the Golgi apparatus was accompani ed by degenerative changes in the two cell cultures only. The lack of degen erative changes in the cells of the tissue culture was discussed with respe ct to the presence of differentiated cells that might better be able to pro tect themselves by mucous or by an activated xenobiotic metabolism. In a se cond type experiment, a waste mater sample containing small concentrations of nonylphenol was applied to the cultures. It did not lead to a vesiculati on of the Golgi apparatus, probably because the nonylphenol concentrations in the waste water were too low to induce the vesiculation. The cultures ex posed to waste water revealed unspecific degenerative cellular changes. Add itionally, explant cultures were prepared from fish that had survived a 6-m onth exposure to polluted river water. In these cultures a higher number of mitochondria containing myelin bodies mere observed when compared to contr ol cultures. Consequently, exposure to polluted water containing a mixture of substances in vitro and in vivo was found to lead to degenerative altera tions in the ultrastructure of the cells. (C) 2000 Academic Press.