Cellular and Stress Protein Responses to the UV Filter 3-Benzylidene Camphor in the Amphipod Crustacean Gammarus fossarum (Koch 1835)

Chemical ultraviolet (UV) filters are used in various products and could be released into the environment, for example, via sunscreens used at swimming lakes. UV filters have been found in surface waters in the past but only a few investigations have concentrated on the effects of these substances in the environment. This study investigates the effects of a UV filter in the amphipod Gammarus fossarum at the cellular and molecular level. Stress protein (Hsp70) responses and reactions of hepatopancreatic cells and cells of gut appendices were investigated in the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum after short-term exposure (4 days) to five different concentrations of the UV filter 3-benzylidene camphor (3-BC; 33 ng/L, 330 ng/L, 3.3 μg/L, 33 μg/L, 330 μg/L) and two control conditions (water and solvent ethanol). Male as well as female gammarids showed increased Hsp70 levels after exposure to low concentrations of 3-BC, with a maximum response at 3.3 μg/L, while the higher concentrations resulted in lower Hsp70 levels. This effect was most likely due to a cessation of Hsp70 synthesis following pathological impact as indicated by strong cellular responses and cellular damage obtained in epithelia of the hepatopancreas and the gut appendices after treatment with 330 μg/L 3-BC. Although environmentally relevant concentrations of 3-BC did not seem to have an adverse effect in this short-term study, higher concentrations of 3-BC are surely detrimental. It is known that chronic exposure generally requires much lower concentrations to cause harm than acute exposure. Additionally, juvenile stages may be even more sensitive than the adults tested. Therefore, on the basis of this study, 3-BC-effects in the field cannot be excluded and should be regarded possible.