Preliminary data on adenylate energy charge variation in Carassius carassius var. auratus submitted to lead intoxication

Abstract In the liver, gills and kidneys of samples of Carassius carassius var. auratus untreated and submitted to experimental lead intoxication (5 mg 1 −1 /1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 h), the amount of Pb stored was determined by atomic absorbance spectrophotometry. Pb was absent in the organs of untreated animals, present at very low concentrations in the liver and kidney of treated samples and in high concentrations in the gills. The adenylate energy charge (AEC) was determined in the same organs on the basis of adenyl nucleotides separated by HPLC. The values of AEC in untreated samples were liver 0.80 v 0.05; kidney and gills 0.78 ± 0.04. The AEC increased after exposure to the polluting agent, reaching the highest value after 2–3 h of treatment, then decreased towards the values of untreated specimens. The amount of ATP expressed as percentage of the adenyl nucleotide pool was higher in the treated than untreated specimens. The recovery phase was also studied by transferring the 2-h treated specimens to unpolluted aquaria; biochemical tests were performed after 12 h recovery.