Gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata is the most commercialized Mediterranean aquacultured fish species.
Ivermectin has recently (experimentally) started to be used to control
ectoparasitic infestations in Mediterranean cultured marine fish. The potential hepatotoxicity of
ivermectin was investigated in gilthead sea bream juveniles (35g) following
oral administration at the recommended dose of 0.2 mgkg(-1) fish for 10d. Difference Gel Electrophoresis Technology (DIGE) was used to study the effect of this treatment in gilthead sea bream liver
protein profile under routine culture conditions. The 2D-DIGE
protein maps obtained were analyzed using the DeCyder 6.5 software. The results obtained showed significant changes in the expression of 36
proteins respect to the control group. Among these
proteins, six increased in abundance, and 30 decreased. Spot showing differential expression respect to the control were analyzed by mass spectrometry and database search, which resulted in three positive identifications corresponding to hepatic
proteins involved in lipid metabolism (
apoA-I), oxidative stress responses and energy generation (
beta-globin,
ATP synthase subunit beta). These
proteins have not been previously associated to invermectin effect.