Effect of cadmium on the coelomic cellular response of Pyura vittata (Stimpson, 1852)

The marine and terrestrial ecosystems are exposed to many types of contaminants in which protrude the heavy metals by their high persistence, non-degradability and toxicity. Many organismos have been used to assess the presence of these elements. In this paper Pyura vittata was used to evaluate the effect of a sublethal dose of cadmium on the coelomic cell population. Sublethal dose was estimated at 96 h following the methodology proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States later sublethal dose was selected for conducting chronic tests for 21 days. We determined the incorporation of metal in the hepatopancreas muscle, tunic and gills. Samples were taken from the coelomic fraction at 3, 7.15 and 21 days of exposure to assess the fraction of celomocitos. Coelomic fraction was obtained and performed total cell count, percentage of viable cells and percentage of each cell type. The median lethal dose for P. vittata exposed to cadmium was 0.02 mg/l. The results determined that cadmium induces an increase in the number of celomocitos in short periods of exposure, three days, however during chronic exposure of 21 days, the organisms tend to standardize the cell number.