The rôle of copper level in the formation of neuronal lipofuscin in the spinal ganglia of Torpedo m

Copper, a marine pollutant of the Gulf of Naples, appears to be involved in the formation of lipofuscin in neuronal cells of Torpedo m. Lipofuscin pigment, a wear and tear pigment, is considered to be a marker of cell damage—in particular in cells such as neurons which are post-mitotic cells which reveal the life history of an an individual. Samples of Torpedo m. were collected from two sites with different levels of pollution. Other animals were kept for 60 days in a closed circuit seawater tank enriched with CuCl 2. In addition to cells of the central nervous system (CNS), other organs were sampled for copper content. Detailed quantification of lipofuscin was made, at the electronmicroscopic level, of spinal ganglia cells and cells of the electric lobe, revealing the high content of lipofuscin in the spinal ganglia neurons of fish from a heavily polluted area and a further increase of lipofuscin in those neurons of animals kept in artificially high copper-containing seawater. The general implications of this pollution for the Gulf of Naples are discussed.