Soumalya Mukherjee

By Sajal Ray, Soumalya Mukherjee, Niladri Sekhar Bhunia, Anindya Sundar Bhunia and Mitali Ray

Immunology deals with the physiological activity of organisms to defend against pathogen and toxin invasion. Invertebrates residing in aquatic ecosystems often face toxicological threat arises from habitat pollution. The aquatic habitat of invertebrates is in the precarious risk of pollution caused by diverse groups of environmental toxins. Immunotoxins have been considered as a special group of pollutants capable of affecting the immunological profile of organisms. Invertebrates residing in water bear ecological, economical, medicinal, industrial, nutritional and biotechnological significance. Global aquatic bioresource is largely composed of invertebrates belonging to multiple Phyla. These organisms, including insects, snails, clams, mussels, crabs and sponges, are physiologically dependent on innate immunological response for defense against pathogen and environmental contaminants. External physicochemical barriers of invertebrates act as primary line of defen against toxin entry. Principal barriers have been identified as shell, tunic, test, carapace, mucus, etc., in diverse species. Toxin-induced morphological damage of specialized immunocytes of invertebrates has been reported. Toxin-induced shift in density, surface adhesion efficacy and aggregation of blood cells or haemocytes have been identified as major xenobiotic stress in invertebrates. Various environmental toxins are capable of initiating alteration in the innate phagocytic response and cytotoxicity of blood cells. Lysosomes of invertebrate haemocytes are functionally involved in intracellular destruction of environmental pathogens. Toxins like arsenic, pyrethroid pesticides, azadirachtin and washing soda were reported to increase the relative fragility of lysosomal membranes of immunocytes. This often leads to impairment in the efficacy of invertebrates to destroy pathogen under the exposure of pollutants. Xenobiotics like pyrethroid pesticides have been recorded to affect apoptosis and necrosis of invertebrate immunocytes. Selected toxin-induced morphological damages of heart, gill, digestive gland, mantle and antennae may result in the overall impairment in homeostatic levels of invertebrates inhabiting the polluted environment. Global environment, in recent times, is under the serious threat of contamination by diverse chemical compounds of unknown or less known toxicity. A thorough ecotoxicological analysis at cellular and molecular levels needs to be carried out in invertebrates occupying the different realms of the planet in future.

Part of the book: Emerging Pollutants in the Environment