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Crude oil impairs heart cell function in the mahi‐mahi ( Coryphaena hippurus )
Author(s) -
Heuer Rachael M.,
Shiels Holly A.,
Galli Gina L. J.,
Cox Georgina K.,
Stieglitz John D.,
Benetti Daniel D.,
Grosell Martin,
Crossley Dane A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.602.11
Subject(s) - contractility , crude oil , pelagic zone , fishery , biology , endocrinology , petroleum engineering , engineering
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 released millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This was particularly concerning for many ecologically and economically important pelagic fish species, since the spill overlapped spatially and temporally with their spawning seasons. Pelagic fish have been shown to be sensitive to the cardiotoxic effects of oil across species, life stages, and levels of organization. Recent work on the mahi‐mahi ( Coryphaena hippurus ) has revealed that exposure to environmentally‐relevant crude oil concentrations negatively impacts animal performance, causing reductions to maximal sustained swimming speed and maximal metabolic rate. Subsequent in‐situ studies on the heart have revealed a ~40% reduction in cardiac output in oil‐exposed mahi, which explains reduced performance. Although cardiotoxic effects have been widely reported, the mechanisms underlying these impairments remain understudied. In the present study, we examined the impacts of crude oil on isolated mahi ventricular cardiomyocyte contractility to better understand these mechanisms. Contractility and other mechanical aspects of cellular contraction were measured using an IonOptix cell recording system, which uses sarcomere shortening as proxy for contractility. The first objective was to examine cardiomyocyte contractility over range of crude oil exposures. The second objective was to examine the impacts of crude oil contractility over a range of stimulation frequencies representative of heart rates observed in mahi (~100–180 beats per minute). Exposure to crude oil was found to significantly reduce heart cell contractile function, but was not found to be dose‐dependent in the range of tested concentrations (3.0, 6.4, and 12.9 μg l −1 ∑50 PAH). Crude oil was also found to impair contractility over a range of stimulation frequencies (1.5–3.0 Hz; 3.6 μg l −1 ∑50 PAH). Since the oil concentration needed to impair function at the cellular level was much lower than what has been observed to induce impairments to animal performance, the role of circulating catecholamines as a potential protective mechanism during oil exposure will also be explored. This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Grant No: SA‐1520 Support or Funding Information Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Grant No: SA‐1520 This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .